Iowa softball found a way to win on March 14 against No. 13 Arizona State. The Hawkeyes split with the Sun Devils in the double-header.

Sophomore pitcher Allison Doocy shone in Iowa’s opening game, sprinkling 6 hits in seven innings and allowing only 1 run. She added 8 strikeouts and walked 1.

Iowa’s offense was able to do the rest. Allie Wood crossed the plate on an RBI single by Elizabeth DeShields in the fourth inning. Iowa extended its lead in the fifth with an RBI double by freshman Aralee Bogar. She advanced to third and scored on a sac fly courtesy of Sarah Kurtz to put Iowa up 3-0.

A Sun Devil double in the bottom of the sixth plated a runner, but Doocy and her defense held Arizona State to close the game.

Iowa’s defense helped Doocy’s cause in the first game, not recording an error behind its star pitcher to give Iowa its 10th win of the year in the form of a 3-1 victory over a top-25 Arizona State squad.

“It helps when you have Doocy in the circle throwing well against them, and we played solid defense behind her pitching,” coach Marla Looper said in a release. “Those things allow you to set yourself up right, and we did that in Game 1.”

Game 2 was a different story, as Hawkeye fielders committed 4 errors. In the circle, Lauren Shaw was unable to replicate Doocy’s stellar performance.

Arizona State jumped out front early with a 2-0 lead in the first, then tagged 2 more runs in the second to go up 4-0 on Shaw and the Hawkeyes. The Sun Devils added another in the third and 4 in the fourth to enact the mercy rule and finish with a 9-0 win.

The softball squad now sits at 10-9. After its 19th game last season, Iowa was a forgettable 3-16.