IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Starting pitchers Shayla Starkenburg and Kristen Wood battled through a seven inning pitchers' duel allowing nine combined hits. One pitch was the difference-maker for Northwestern, as Julia Kuhn led off the fourth with a solo home run to left center.
The long ball proved to be the game-winner after the Wildcats (26-19, 13-7) held off the Hawkeye offense to record the 1-0 win in game one of the three game Big Ten series. With the loss, Iowa falls to 16-38 overall and 7-14 in conference play.
The Hawkeyes, who outhit the Wildcats in the contest 5-4, had their scoring opportunities, but came up empty in key situations.