Senior pitcher Nicole Kurth picked up her second shutout and third victory (3-0) of the season, as the 2000 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament MVP hurled a 2-0 shutout for Illinois State against 13th-ranked Iowa at the Louisville Slugger Tournament in Tempe, Ariz. on Friday.
Kurth struck out 10 batters and surrendered just four hits, earning her 14th victory in her last 17 appearances for the Redbirds (4-2 overall). The Hawkeyes fell to 1-1 on the year.
Sophomore Becky McMurtry continued her hot hitting, going 1-for-2 with her fourth double of the season, while designated hitter Melissa Baker was a perfect 2-for-2 at the plate on the afternoon.
The Redbirds got the lead early after two walks landed April Schermann and Jamie Bagnall on base in the bottom of the second. Schermann stole third and an error on Iowa second baseman Katie Boney advanced Schermann home, giving ISU the 1-0 advantage.
Back-to-back singles by Iowa in the third, plus an intentional walk of Hawkeye Alicia Gerlach loaded the bases but a strikeout two batters later on Lori Leon got the Redbirds out of the heat.
In the fifth, Fournie led off with a single when McMurtry hit a double to left center with no outs for the 'Birds. Cute Taylor hit a sacrifice fly to advance Fournie home, giving ISU the two-run lead and the victory.
ISU head coach
Melinda Fischer said after the game there was never a dull moment against the Hawkeyes and commented on how proud she was of how prepared her team was from the beginning of the game.
"We just looked and played like we were ready and came out hard from the start," Fischer said. "Iowa opened its season here and I think us playing in Australia and Alabama has got our ball rolling. This is a different year and these girls are determined to play hard and improve each step of each game.
"This was a huge win," Fischer added. "It is 'big time' when you can beat a top-ranked team and we played just like we could take on anybody."
