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TEMPE, Arizona — The University of Iowa softball team defeated No. 13 Arizona State, 3-1, on Wednesday night at Farrington Stadium in game one of the doubleheader. The Hawkeyes dropped game two, 9-0. This is the first time Iowa has defeated Arizona State since Feb. 18, 2005, when the Hawkeyes won a 2-0 decision.
After three scoreless innings in game one, the Hawkeyes took a 1-0 lead in the fourth when Elizabeth DeShields used an RBI single to score Allie Wood.
Iowa extended its lead in the top of the fifth frame. Aralee Bogar smacked a double, plating pinch runner Alex Rath. Sarah Kurtz then hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Bogar, giving the Hawkeyes a 3-0 advantage.
The thirteenth-ranked Sun Devils cut into the Hawkeye lead in the bottom of the sixth with an RBI double, but the Hawkeye defense stepped up and stopped the rally, securing the 3-1 victory.
Allison Doocy earned the win, recording eight strikeouts and scattering six hits and a walk over 7.0 innings pitched.
Arizona State jumped out to an early lead in the second game, scoring two in the first and two in the second to go up 4-0. ASU then took advantage of a Hawkeye miscue to add a run in the third.
The Sun Devils tacked on four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning before closing out the 9-0 win.
Lauren Shaw suffered the loss, tallying five strikeouts and allowing nine hits in 3.2 innings pitched.
NOTABLES
- DeShields’ RBI single in game one was her first in black and gold.
- Bogar tied a career high with two hits in game one.
- Three Hawkeyes — Bogar (2), Wood (2), and DeShields (2) — had multi-hit outings in the first game.
- This is the first time Iowa has defeated two ranked opponents in a season since 2015 when Iowa topped No. 17 UCF (3-2), No. 4 Michigan (6-4), and No. 12 Minnesota (2-0).
QUOTING HEAD COACH MARLA LOOPER
“The biggest thing in the first game was that we came out attacking. We attacked early. We put the ball in play and made them play defense, and then we didn’t just sit. We continued to attack. We could have let it affect us when we left runners on base early, but we didn’t, and I’m proud of them for that.
“It helps when you have Doocy in the circle throwing well against them, and we played solid defense behind her pitching. Those things allow you to set yourself up right, and we did that in game one.”
RECORDS UPDATE
- Iowa: 10-9
- #13 Arizona State: 22-3
UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes travel to Omaha, Nebraska, for the Creighton Invitational on March 16-17. Iowa faces Wichita State twice and Creighton once during the tournament.
