Doocy throws no-hitter, Iowa softball sweeps Rutgers

In a four-game tilt in Piscataway, New Jersey, Iowa softball collected its first weekend series sweep of the season.

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Jerod Ringwald

Iowa pitcher Allison Doocy throws a pitch with a runner on first during a softball game at Pearl Field on Saturday, April 3 during a softball game between Iowa and Indiana. The Hawkeyes defeated the Hoosiers 8-0 in five innings.

Chloe Peterson, Sports Reporter


Senior pitcher Allison Doocy etched her name into the history books on Sunday afternoon in Piscataway, New Jersey, as she threw Iowa softball’s 18th program no-hitter.

In a five-inning game that Iowa won in run-rule fashion, 8-0, Doocy allowed no hits and no walks to the Scarlet Knights on 66 pitches. It was the first no-hitter for Iowa softball since Feb. 7, 2015, when Shayla Starkenburg accomplished the feat.

“I have had the chance to play with some of the best athletes, it has been awesome,” Doocy said in a Saturday release. “I love the support behind me, some people have made some great plays to keep the momentum.”

Doocy’s no-hit game capped off a sweep of the Scarlet Knights for Iowa. After the weekend, Iowa sits at 20-16 on the season.

“We have a mission to finish strong in this last stretch of the season,” head coach Renee Gillispie said Sunday in a release to reporters. “A mission to improve ourselves over the last few weekends. The wins this weekend were a big start for that. We are anxious to be back home for the next two weekends and to be in front of our fans. We are excited about how we are playing right now.”

During the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader, a 9-1 win in five innings for the Hawkeyes, Doocy also became the sixth Hawkeye in softball program history to notch 700 strikeouts.

Senior southpaw Lauren Shaw collected her seventh win of the season in the second game of the doubleheaders, shutting down Rutgers’ bats as Iowa won the game, 6-2.

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“In both games, and even yesterday you could see the pitching was on,” Gillispie said in a Saturday release. “They were focusing on what they needed to do and did a great job on the mound. Both Doocy and Shaw locked it down, the defense had their back. The biggest highlight of the day was seeing the offense. Seeing the girls start to hit the ball.”

Iowa scored a combined 34 runs on the weekend, while Rutgers put 11 across the plate.

The first game of the series was a high-scoring affair, as Iowa edged out Rutgers, 11-8. The Hawkeyes launched four home runs Friday night, including back-to-back homers in the sixth inning by freshmen Grace Banes and Brylee Klosterman. In the top of the seventh, senior Aralee Bogar broke the game open with a grand slam.

The home run barrage started in the fifth, as freshman Marissa Peek notched three RBIs with the Hawkeyes’ first home run of the game.

“I am proud of how they kept fighting,” Gillispie said in a release Friday. “We had home runs out of Klosterman and Bogar, who are not normally home run hitters for us. They had huge home runs for us, and that was really the difference in the ball game.”

On the weekend, Klosterman stood at the leadoff spot for the Hawkeyes. She went 9-for-13 at the plate, including two home runs and four RBIs.

“I was just trying to keep it simple,” Klosterman said in a release Friday. “I wanted to get on base for my teammates, bring my teammates around. I went up there with a two-strike approach and not let good pitches go by. When I get a good pitch see it and hit it.”

The Hawkeyes kick off a home series against Nebraska at Bob Pearl Field Friday. First pitch comes Friday at 3 p.m.