24 Hawkeyes to Watch 2018-19 | Hawk Talk Monthly — March | Game 1 | Game 2 | Boxscore
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The University of Iowa softball team (15-11, 1-2 Big Ten) split Saturday’s doubleheader with Purdue (22-10, 2-1 Big Ten) inside Bittinger Stadium.
Iowa defeated Purdue, 2-1, in the first game, but fell 4-2 in the second game of the afternoon.
HEAR FROM COACH GILLISPIE
“Purdue is a tough and good hitting team and we knew coming out that we had to play our best. (Allison) Doocy did a great job in the circle and Erin (Riding) came in during that last game and showed a lot of strength and composure. I feel good about her going into our next series next weekend.”
“Mallory (Kilian) had a great showing. She was solid at the plate and did the things she needed to do. Sydney Owens did a nice job at shortstop in that second game and got a lot of outs for us. We doing a good job of settling in and getting focused on what we need to do. Getting that first Big Ten weekend under our belt is important. Western Illinois is Wednesday and Northwestern is next weekend, so we are excited for our Hawkeyes to play on their home field.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Game 1
The Hawkeyes were the first to score first for the second straight game. Junior Lea Thompson ripped a triple over the center fielder and an RBI single by senior Mallory Kilian gave Iowa a brief advantage.
Purdue returned the favor in the bottom half of the inning, scoring a run off of an Iowa error to tie the game. Similar to Friday’s game, Iowa and Purdue went scoreless until the final frame.
The Hawkeyes flipped the script, leading off the top of the seventh inning with a double by freshman Sydney Owens. Freshman Hallie Ketcham advanced Owens to third on a sacrifice bunt, bringing up sophomore Aralee Bogar. Bogar broke the tie with an RBI single to center.
Junior Allison Doocy earned her 13th win of the season after retiring the Boilermakers in order to clinch Iowa’s first Big Ten win of the season. She gave up three hits, while striking out five.
Game 2
For the first time in the series Purdue was the first to score, picking up two runs in the first inning and two more in the third. Iowa got on the board in the top of the fourth inning to make the score 4-1. Senior Mallory Kilian got on base with a one-out triple and was brought in by in by an RBI single from junior DoniRae Mayhew.
The Hawkeyes threatened in the fifth inning with runners on first and third, but Iowa’s attack ended after a batter was called out of the box. Iowa picked up its second run of the game in the sixth on a sac fly from freshman Abby Lien.
Iowa threatened again in the seventh inning, getting runners on second and third with a couple of walks, but the Hawkeyes couldn’t muster any runs.
Doocy got the start in game two and was relieved by senior Erin Riding in the third inning. Riding finished the game, giving up two hits and zero runs in 3.2 innings
UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes return to Pearl Field for their home opener on Wednesday against Western Illinois at 7 p.m. (CT).
