University of Minnesota Athletics
Hawkeyes Open Up Late, Top Gopher Softball 8-0
5/8/2010 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Minneapolis - The University of Minnesota softball team was looking to get back in the win column against Iowa, but instead it was the Hawkeyes who broke out of a slump, beating the Gophers 8-0 today (May 8).
Minnesota (15-34, 1-14) had lost 13 straight coming into the game, and was looking for their second win in Big Ten action as they hosted Iowa. The Hawkeyes scored first in the second, before adding two runs each in the fourth and fifth, and three in the sixth for the 8-0 win after six innings.
Iowa (24-21, 9-7) had lost seven straight coming into today's game, all coming in conference play, including two earlier in the week in a doubleheader at Illinois. The Hawkeyes did their damage on eight hits, including four runs on just two hits over the fourth and fifth innings.
Minnesota starter Alissa Koch (Racine, Wis.) pitched a perfect first inning, sitting down the last two batters by strikeout. Koch finished with five strikeouts on the day, the most she has had in a game since seven at Northwestern on Apr. 14. She pitched to just four batters in the second, but she paid for her lone mistake, as the Hawkeyes' Jenny Schuelke took the 3-2 pitch and parked it over the right field fence for the early 1-0 lead.
Koch pitched all 6.0 innings and allowed all eight runs - six earned - along with eight hits and two walks, as she falls to 0-20 on the season.
She was out-dueled by Iowa starter Amanda Zust who threw 6.0 shutout innings, including a perfect sixth to end the game. Zust allowed six hits and two walks while striking out just one, and improves to 15-10 on the year.
The Gophers left seven runners on base in the game, and had a chance in the first to take the game's first lead after Abby Rehberger (Brainerd, Minn.) led off with a single. Rehberger finished 2-for-3 on the day, her first multiple hit game since Mar. 21. After opening the first inning with a single, she moved all the way to third before she was left stranded 90-feet from home.
Down 3-0 in the bottom of the fourth, the Gophers had two runners in scoring position after a wild pitch from Zust moved Heidi Carls (Villard, Minn.) to third and Kari Dorle (South St. Paul, Minn.) to second. Natalie Neal (Frisco, Texas) walked next to load the bases, but a groundout from Tina Watts (Minneapolis) ended the threat and the inning.
The Hawkeyes scored their final three runs on three hits in the sixth, with all the damage done on a bases loaded single that scored three to provide the final 8-0 margin.
The same two teams will take the field again tomorrow, with the first pitch again set for 1:00 p.m. It will also be senior day at Cowles Stadium, as the Gophers will honor their five seniors after the game.
