Iowa won its third season-opener in a row on Feb. 9 against Illinois-Chicago but dropped its other three games at the Mardi Gras Classic in Lafayette, Louisiana.
Sophomore Allison Doocy was the first Hawkeye to take the circle this season, and her efforts did not go unnoticed. She notched seven scoreless innings for the Hawkeyes to start their 2018 campaign on Feb. 9.
“If Doocy was a rookie, I don’t think she would have been as calm out there today as she was, but she’s a veteran now,” head coach Marla Looper said in a release. “We had a good week leading into today, and that confidence allowed her to stay calm. There were anxious vibes throughout the whole team because it’s opening day, but that didn’t affect her in any way.”
Doocy’s teammates did the offensive work needed to put away Illinois-Chicago. Freshman Aralee Bogar scored the first Hawkeye run of the season. Bogar singled and was knocked in by an Angela Schmiederer single in the third inning. Sophomore Brooke Rozier added to the cause by scoring on a sacrifice fly later that inning. Bogar struck one more time by scoring on a Rozier single in the fifth to make the score 3-0, where it remained.
The rest of the weekend did not go the way Iowa hoped.
The Hawkeyes returned to the field right after their win for a game with Eastern Illinois, and Iowa did not get the same pitching performance.
Lauren Shaw got the start for Iowa and tossed 2.2 innings, allowing 5 hits and 3 earned runs. Kenzie Ihle relieved Shaw, and a passed ball allowed for a fourth Eastern Illinois run and Iowa was down, 4-0, by the third inning. That was all the damage the Panthers needed to do.
Iowa scored 2 runs in the fourth behind a double from junior Mallory Kilian that scored sophomore Alex Rath. Kilian then scored on a fielding error by the right fielder.
The score remained 4-2 for the rest of the game.
Iowa’s game with Evansville was canceled on the morning of Feb. 10, but the Hawkeyes returned to action Sunday morning for their second game against Illinois-Chicago. Three errors by the Hawkeyes led to a loss, 6-4.
Shaw gave up 6 hits and 6 runs, 3 of which were earned, through 5.1 innings.
Iowa’s offense showed promise, with hits coming from six players, but still, it was not enough to earn the Hawkeyes’ second win of the season.
In its fourth game of the weekend, Iowa fell to Lafayette, 9-0.
The Ragin Cajuns’ offense started fast and piled up runs on Doocy. Through four innings, Doocy gave up 9 hits and 8 runs — only 4 earned. Erin Riding relieved her and gave up 1 run, making the score 9-0.
Iowa’s offense was missing throughout the game, with center fielder Allie Wood notching the only Hawkeye hit.
“We are fortunate this is the beginning,” Looper said in a release. “So we are going to continue to grow and learn those things. We just need to step up and execute when we are called upon.”