April 12, 2009
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WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – Senior Brittany Weil threw her fourth hitless game of the season, tossing a no-hitter in Iowa’s 4-0 win at Purdue Sunday. Iowa now stands at 33-9 overall and 5-3 in Big Ten play.
Weil turned in another superb performance, striking out seven batters in the no-hitter. She allowed only four baserunners to reach, hitting a batter in the second, walking two in the fourth and one in the sixth.
The Garden Grove, CA, native also tied former Hawkeye all-American Debbie Bilbao’s record for most hitless games in a career. Weil and Bilbao have both thrown four hitless games, with Weil’s all coming this season. She threw her first career no-hitter against Kent State (Feb. 13), her second at Kennesaw State (Feb. 22) and her first perfect game against Illinois (April 1). Bilbao threw one no-hitter in 1995, a no-hitter and a perfect game in 1997 and a no-hitter in 1998.
“These were two great wins for us this weekend,” Head Coach Gayle Blevins said. “Brittany (Weil) once again kept us in the game, and some timely hitting gave us the win. It’s been a lot of fun to watch Brittany this season. She has led by example and is doing some spectacular things for us.”
“I wasn’t even thinking about the no-hitter,” Weil said. “After those early walks, I was just focusing on getting through the game and getting us a win. The defense all weekend was amazing behind me. Our infield was sharp, the outfield ran down some tough balls, and Liz (Watkins) behind the plate is great to throw to.”
Iowa jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning. Freshman Liz Watkins was hit by a pitch to start the inning, and senior Rachel West took her place at first. West then stole second base and hustled to third on a single by junior Katie Brown. Senior Sam Heinzman plated the first run of the game with a sharp single through the right side, scoring West from third.
Brown doubled Iowa’s lead in the top of the fourth with a solo home run to left field. Brown’s third home run of the season was a powerful drive into a stiff 20 mile-per-hour wind, blowing straight in from center field.
Iowa added two more runs with two outs in the sixth inning for a 4-0 lead. Senior Erin Riemersma walked and hustled home from first base on a double to the left field fence by freshman Katie Keim. Sophomore Jenny Schuelke drove in Keim with a pinch-hit, RBI single to left field.
Brown led Iowa at the plate, going 3-for-4, while Carmody added two hits.
Iowa will continue action in Big Ten play against nationally-ranked Northwestern Wednesday. The Hawkeyes and Wildcats will play a doubleheader in Evanston, with game one starting at 2 p.m.