Hawkeyes hand Leathernecks 8-0 loss

IOWA CITY, Iowa - The Iowa Hawkeyes handed the Fighting Leatherneck softball team an 8-0 loss in a six inning contest at Pearl Field on Sunday afternoon.

Iowa (23-14) jumped out to a five-run lead in the bottom of the first (5-0), scoring five runs on five hits off of Leatherneck pitcher Lori Pankratz before being relieved by Kamren Ferguson.

Iowa added one run in the bottom of the third to push their lead to six (6-0) over the Leathernecks (24-15).

Johnnie Dowling hit a two RBI home run down the left-field line in the bottom of the sixth to hand Western its second consecutive loss and fifth shutout of the year.

Western (24-15) was able to get seven hits in the contest, but hit into three double plays and left four runners on base.

Lori Pankratz (8-5) took the loss, allowing five hits and five runs in 0.2 innings of work. Ferguson pitched the final 4.2 innings, striking out seven batters and giving up two hits.

“Kamren did a great job this afternoon,” said Western Illinois head coach Holly Van Vlymen. “I told her after the game she had nothing to hang her head about because she did everything we asked of her.”

Julie DePolo and Jamie Goss led the Leathernecks at the plate, both collecting two hits in the contest. Colleen Biebel, Pankratz and Erin Schlotfeldt all added a hit in the loss.

“We need to learn from this loss and move forward,” said Van Vlymen. “We have to continue to focus on running better on the base paths and playing tighter defense.”

Western is back in action on April 23-24 in a conference series with IPFW at Mary Ellen McKee Softball Stadium.

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Players Mentioned

#22 Kamren Ferguson: P; 5' 8"; Senior; R/R

#15 Lori Pankratz: P/IF; 5' 8"; Senior; R/R

#25 Julie DePolo: IF; 5' 4"; Senior; R/R

#9 Colleen Biebel: OF; 5' 2"; Junior; L/R

#33 Jamie Goss: IF; 5' 4"; Sophomore; R/R

Players Mentioned

#22 Kamren Ferguson
: 5' 8"; Senior; R/R
: P

#15 Lori Pankratz
: 5' 8"; Senior; R/R
: P/IF

#25 Julie DePolo
: 5' 4"; Senior; R/R
: IF

#9 Colleen Biebel
: 5' 2"; Junior; L/R
: OF

#33 Jamie Goss
: 5' 4"; Sophomore; R/R
: IF