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Hawkeyes Head to The Spring Games
This week, the University of Iowa softball team travels Madeira Beach, Florida, to compete in The Spring Games. Iowa plays Miami (OH) and Florida Gulf Coast on Friday before ending its weekend against South Alabama and Florida Atlantic on Saturday.
CARTER NAMED B1G FRESHMAN, PLAYER
- Freshman Nia Carter made a statement in Hawai’i and was named the Big Ten’s Freshman of the Week and Player of the Week.
- Carter batted .744 (10-14) in five games with four RBIs. She recorded four multi-hit games, including a 3-for-3 performance against UMKC in the tournament finale.
- Carter now leads the team and the Big Ten with a .567 batting average. Nationally, Carter is tied for 13th.
- The honor is Carter’s first of her career and first Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor since Allison Doocy on April 17, 2017.
- Carter is the first player in program history to earn Big Ten Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week honors in the same week.
DYNAMIC DUO
- Junior Lauren Shaw and senior Allison Doocy have been a potent one-two punch for the Hawkeyes on the mound.
- The duo have combined for 117 strikeouts in 91.2 innings.
- Shaw leads the Big Ten with a 1.46 ERA, while Doocy is sixth with a 1.76 ERA. Iowa is the only team with multiple pitchers inside the conference’s top six.
- Shaw is one of two pitchers in the conference with seven wins.
- Doocy is fourth in the Big Ten with 70 strikeouts, striking out 43.4-percent of the batters she has faced. (70-161).
- Doocy has 11.3 strikeouts per seven innings.
- As a team, Iowa ranks second in the Big Ten with a 2.14 combined ERA.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
- Five Hawkeyes were named to the Hawai’i Invitational All-Tournament Team.
- Junior Lauren Shaw was named the Most Valuable Pitcher and Nia Carter was tabbed as the Most Valuable Player.
- Junior Aralee Bogar, senior Allison Doocy, and sophomore Kit Rocco were named to the All-Tournament team.
STARTING RIGHT
- After 14 games, Iowa is 12-2 overall for one of the best starts in program history.
- Iowa earned five wins in Hawaii to reach 12 wins – the earliest Iowa has reached the 12-win plateau (Feb. 23).
- The 2020 team joins the 1991 (18-2) and 2000 (13-1) teams as the best starts in program history.
- The 1991 team was 53-11 and the 2000 team finished 46-15.
NEWCOMER BATS
- Five of Iowa’s top six hitters are new to the team in 2020.
- Freshman Nia Carter (.567) leads the team followed by senior Havyn Monteer (.412), sophomore Kit Rocco (.400), freshman Kalena Burns (.326), junior Mia Ruther (.311), and sophomore Riley Sheehy (.267).
- At Iowa’s most recent tournament, Carter batted .714, followed by Burns’ and Monteer’s .400 and Rocco’s .333.
CREATING A ROUTINE
- Freshman Kalena Burns tallied a homerun in her third consecutive weekend.
- Burns’ homerun came in the tournament finale against UMKC to put Iowa on the board 2-0. Iowa would go on to win the game 4-2.
- Burns leads the team with three long balls on the year.
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, Feb. 14-16.
- 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.
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 .311 with 14 hits and four runs 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 14 games this season.
- Juniors Mia Ruther, Aralee Bogar, and Avery Guy, and freshman Kalena Burns have all earned the nod each game in 2020.
GOOD, CLEAN SOFTBALL
- Iowa ranks in the top half of the Big Ten in fielding percentage and team errors.
- Iowa is third in the Big Ten with a .974 fielding percentage with 284 putouts and 85 assists.
- The Hawkeyes are one of four teams with 10 or less errors on the season.
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.
FOLLOW THE HAWKEYES
For all of the latest news and information on Iowa softball, visit hawkeyesports.com. Fans can also follow the program on its social media outlets at Facebook.com/iowahawkeyessoftball and @iowasoftball on Twitter and Instagram.
Live stats and live streaming links for each game are on the softball schedule page at hawkeyesports.com.