University of Minnesota Athletics
SB: Minnesota Swept at No. 19 Iowa
5/1/2005 12:00:00 AM | Softball
In the first game, Iowa took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on Emily Nichols’ two-out double to left center. Stacy May led off the inning with a single to left and reached second on a sacrifice. She came around to score on Nichols’ extra-base hit.
The Hawkeyes tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth inning. With two outs, Sami Baugh hit her sixth home run of the season over the center field wall.
That was all Birocci needed to improve to 24-7 on the year. She struck out five and walked one as she picked up her second shutout of the Golden Gophers this season. She threw a five-hit shutout in a 3-0 win in February at the Red & Black Classic in Louisville, Ky.
Stephanie Sward and Megan Higginbotham collected the Golden Gophers’ two hits. Sward had an infield single in the fourth, while Higginbotham lined a single in the top of the seventh inning.
In the second game, the Hawkeyes broke open a 2-2 tie with a run in the fourth and a pair in the fifth inning. After Iowa jumped ahead 1-0 in the top of the first inning, the Golden Gophers tied the game. With two outs, Higginbotham laced a double to left field. She would come around to score on a fielding error by third baseman Abby Ruff.
Iowa regained the lead with a run in the top of the third inning, but the Golden Gophers answered in the bottom of the stanza. With one out, Chrissy Sward singled to right and advanced to third on Higginbotham’s double to center. Sward would come around to score on a wild pitch.
The Hawkeyes took the lead for good in the top of the fourth inning as Jenna Spratt’s infield single with two outs scored Natalie Johnson from third. Iowa tacked on two more runs in the fifth to take a 5-2 lead. Brandi Sargent singled home the first run with a hit through the right side and Birocci scored on a failed pickoff attempt at third base.
Minnesota cut the deficit to 5-3 with a run in the fifth. With runners on first and third, Katie Meyer drove home a run with a sacrifice fly to center. That would be the end of the offense for Minnesota against Hawkeye reliever Birocci. She allowed one run on three hits in three innings to pick up her seventh save of the year. Starter Ali Arnold improved to 19 -3 on the year after allowing two runs on four hits in four innings.
Higginbotham finished the game with a pair of doubles, tying the school record. She upped her batting average to .407 on the year. Stephanie Sward and Chrissy Sward finished with two hits apiece.
The Golden Gophers close out the regular season next weekend against Wisconsin. The Saturday-Sunday series will determine the winner of the first annual Border Battle Cup.
