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THIS WEEK
This week, the University of Iowa softball team travels to Honolulu, Hawaii, to compete in the Hawaii Invitational. Iowa is set to face Portland State and UMKC on Friday and Hawaii on Saturday. Iowa’s final two opponents and gametimes are determined via seeding and the outcomes of the previous games in the tournament. Iowa will play a second game on Saturday and one on Sunday to close the tournament.
SHAW NAMED B1G PITCHER
- Junior Lauren Shaw was named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week following a dominant weekend at the B1G/ACC Challenge in Atlanta, Georgia.
- Shaw went 2-0 in the circle with two complete games, one shutout, and a 0.00 ERA.
- Shaw tallied 18 strikeouts on the weekend, including a career-high 10 against Georgia Tech on Sunday.
- Shaw helped Iowa win three of four games over the weekend and is 5-1 overall.
- The honor is Shaw’s first of her career and Iowa’s first since Allison Doocy’s nod on March 11, 2019.
STARTING RIGHT
- After the first two weekends of action, the Hawkeyes are 7-2 overall – the team’s best start since 2008.
- Iowa defeated Boston College twice and Georgia Tech at the B1G/ACC Challenge last weekend.
- The Hawkeyes defeated Georgia Tech for the first time in six tries on Feb. 16. Iowa had previously faced and lost to the Yellow Jackets in 2002, 2007, 2010, 2017 twice, and once in 2020.
- The 5-0 victory is the second largest margin of victory for either team in the all-time series.
UNDERCLASSMEN BATS
- Sophomores Riley Sheehy, and Kit Rocco and freshman Nia Carter led Iowa at the plate at the B1G/ACC Challenge last weekend.
- Sheehy batted a perfect 1.000 in three games with two RBIs against Georgia Tech on Sunday.
- Carter batted .455 with two doubles, barely missing her first career homerun against Georgia Tech.
- Rocco tallied a .429 hitting percentage in all four games. She tied the team lead with three RBIs during the tournament.
BURNS HOMERS AGAIN
- Freshman Kalena Burns homered in her second consecutive weekend at the B1G/ACC Challenge in Atlanta.
- Burns’ three-run homerun against Georgia Tech on Feb. 16 helped lift the Hawkeyes to a 5-0 victory and finish the weekend 3-1 overall.
- Burns leads the team with two homeruns, eight RBIs, anda .571 slugging percentage in 2020.
ACE X2
- Junior Lauren Shaw and senior Allison Doocy have been a potent one-two punch for the Hawkeyes on the mound.
- The duo of Doocy and Shaw join Michigan’s Alex Storako and Meghan Beaubien as the only teams to have multiple pitchers in the Big Ten’s top-ten. (Min. 20 IP).
- Shaw is one of three pitchers in the conference with five wins.
- Doocy is fifth in the Big Ten with 39 strikeouts and she strikes out 39-percent of the batters she has faced. (39-99)
RUTHER IS THE REAL DEAL
- Junior Mia Ruther joined the Hawkeyes after two seasons at Des Moines Area Community College and showed why she was a NJCAA First-Team All-American.
- Ruther has started in every game for Iowa at shortstop. Ruther is batting .370 with 10 hits and one run scored.
- Ruther played the hero in Iowa’s final game against Virginia Tech on Feb. 9, recording a walk-off single to third in the bottom of the eighth inning to score freshman Taylor Ryan.
POISED FOR A BIG YEAR?
- Renee-Gillispie-coached teams have improved an average of 12 wins in its second season under Gillispie.
- The biggest turnaround came during Gillispie’s tenure at Texas Tech where the team improved 30 games from year one to year two.
GOTTA START THEM ALL
- Four Hawkeyes have played and started in all nine games this season.
- Juniors Mia Ruther, Aralee Bogar, and Avery Guy, and freshman Kalena Burns have all earned the nod each game in 2020.
- Ruther leads the group with a .370 average, including a team-high 10 hits.
- Burns paces the team with two homeruns and eight RBIs.
ROCCO AND ROLL
- Sophomore Kit Rocco has been Iowa’s go-to catcher through nine contests.
- Rocco leads Iowa with a .471 average, which ranks third in the Big Ten.
- Rocco averaged .444 at the B1G/ACC Challenge in Atlanta.
GOOD, CLEAN SOFTBALL
- Iowa ranks in the top half of the Big Ten in fielding percentage and team errors.
- Iowa is fourth in the Big Ten with a .975 fielding percentage with 179 putouts and 54 assists.
- The Hawkeyes are one of four teams with less than 10 errors. Iowa has the fourth-least errors in the conference with eight.
- Iowa has committed four errors in each of the first two weekends.
IOWA PRIDE
- The Hawkeyes have been accuring Iowa talent over the offseason.
- Of Iowa’s 11 new players, six are from the state of Iowa.
