IOWA CITY, Iowa – The Rutgers-Iowa softball series is tied up at 1-1 after the host Hawkeyes bested the Scarlet Knights 7-4 at Bob Pearl Field on Saturday.

Iowa took a 3-0 lead with two runs in the first and a run in the second, but Rutgers tied the ball game with two runs in the third and a run in the fourth. The Hawkeyes, however, used a four-run fifth inning to take the lead for good.

The loss drops Rutgers to 31-21 overall and 8-11 in the Big Ten. Iowa improves to 29-22 overall and 9-10 in league play.

Iowa 7, Rutgers 4

• Payton Lincavage was 2-for-3, including a double, along with two RBIs and a run scored.
• Morgan Smith was 3-for-4 at the plate and was the starting pitcher going two innings with three runs on five hits and three strikeouts.
• Kayla Bock tied the ball game at 3-3 in the fourth blasting a solo home run, her first of the season.
• Raimy Gamsby dropped to 8-8 in the circle tossing 2.2 innings giving up two earned runs on four hits with a strikeout.

• The hosts took an early 2-0 lead with their first at-bat. The first three Hawkeyes reached base, while back-to-back hits with one out put the game's first two runs on the board for Iowa. Nia Carter delivered an RBI double down the left-field line and Denali Loecker followed with an RBI single to left.
• Rutgers loaded the bases with one out in the top of the second. The Hawkeyes, however, turned the double play to retire the side and get out of the jam.
• Iowa added a run in the bottom of the inning. Brylee Klosterman collected the first of the Hawkeye's trio of hits in the frame with a single thru the left side and scored on a base hit to right-center from Carter.
• The Scarlet Knights got onto the scoreboard in the third. Kyleigh Sand led off with a single up the middle and motored around the bases on a double from Payton Lincavage that hit the wall in left. While the ball reached the plate to try and stop the run, the Hawkeyes were called for obstruction. Morgan Smith reached base on a single to left and Katie Wingert followed with a walk. With ball four called on Wingert, Smith took off for second catching the Iowa defense off guard. A throw to second, despite Smith taking the base off the walk, was off mark and sailed into the outfield allowing Lincavage to score from third on the error.
• It was a full-count Kayla Bock bomb to center field to lead off the fourth and knot the score at 3-3.
  Iowa went back in front in the fifth. The Hawkeyes produced four runs for a 7-3 edge. Iowa used back-to-back doubles with Grace Banes knocking in Tory Bennett for the 4-3 lead to start the inning. The side concluded with Carter driving in two runs for four total on the day with her single to right and the Hawkeyes adding in another score off an off-target throw to home.
• Rutgers managed one more run. Payton Lincavage doubled to the wall in center scoring Lauren Punk from first for the 7-4 margin.

• Kayla Bock drilled her first home run of the season and RU's 37th of the season, the third-most in a season by the Scarlet Knights. It was also the junior Scarlet Knight's sixth of her career.
• Rutgers posted a pair of doubles for the second-straight contest.  Payton Lincavage had her 12th double of the year, one shy of cracking the single-season top 10 list, and 30th of her career becoming the ninth Scarlet Knight in history with over 30 career doubles. Morgan Smith recorded her 11th double of 2023 and 14th of her career.

The Rutgers-Iowa series concludes on Sunday at 1 p.m. (ET) at Bob Pearl Field.