Hawkeye Fan Shop — A Black & Gold Store | 24 Hawkeyes to Watch 2019-20 | Hawk Talk Monthly – February | The Spring Games 2
THIS WEEK
This week, the University of Iowa softball team travels Madeira Beach, Florida, for the second consecutive weekend to compete in The Spring Games. Iowa will play two games on Friday and two games on Saturday, facing Loyola (Chicago) and South Dakota State on Friday and Central Michigan and Ohio University on Saturday. All games will be streamed on FloSoftball.
TRIPLE THREAT
- The Hawkeyes hit their first triples of the season at The Spring Games last weekend.
- Sophomore Riley Sheehy notched her first triple in an Iowa uniform against Florida Gulf Coast on Feb. 28, helping Iowa to a 7-1 victory.
- The next day, freshman Nia Carter tripled down the right field line against Florida Atlantic, sparking a two-run first inning for the Hawkeyes. Iowa went on to win 6-5.
B1G TIME
- Freshman Nia Carter is pacing the Big Ten in batting average through four weekends.
- Carter is batting .524 with nine RBIs, two doubles, and one triple.
- The Rancho Cucamonga, California, native leads the Big Ten by 49 points.
- Carter has 22 hits to only three strikeouts.
GOOD, CLEAN SOFTBALL
- Iowa ranks second in the Big Ten in fielding.
- Iowa’s .973 fielding percentage is tied for second in the Big Ten.
- The Hawkeyes have 366 putouts with 111 assists and 13 errors, which is third in the conference.
- On the basepaths, Iowa has caught four runners stealing of 15 attempted steals.
- Nationally, Iowa is 29th in the nation in fielding percentage.
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 149 strikeouts in 116.2 innings
- Doocy is second in the Big Ten with a 1.56 ERA and Shaw is 10th with a 2.03 ERA.
- Shaw is one of two pitchers in the conference with seven wins.
- Doocy is third in the Big Ten with 70 strikeouts and she strikes out 44-percent of the batters she has faced. (95-214).
- As a team, Iowa ranks second in the Big Ten with a 2.18 combined ERA.
NATIONAL NOISE
- Senior Allison Doocy ranks ninth in the nation with 11.4 strikeouts per seven innings.
- The Ankeny, Iowa, native sits eighth on the Division I active career leaderboard with 614 career strikeouts.
- Doocy recorded her 600th career strikeout against South Alabama on Feb. 29.
STARTING RIGHT
- After 18 games, Iowa is 14-4 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 joined 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
- Four of Iowa’s top six hitters are new to the team in 2020.
- Freshman Nia Carter (.524) leads the team followed by senior Havyn Monteer (.318), sophomore Riley Sheehy (.364), freshman Kalena Burns (.357), sophomore Kit Rocco (.313), and sophomore Abby Lien (.286).
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 on March 24.
- 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 .524 batting average. Nationally, Carter is 14th.
- 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.
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.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
- Five Hawkeyes were named to the Hawai’i Invitational All-Tournament Team Feb. 21-23.
- 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.
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 18 games this season.
- Juniors Mia Ruther, Aralee Bogar, and Avery Guy, and freshman Kalena Burns have all earned the nod each game in 2020.
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.
