Iowa’s ace pitcher Allison Doocy has controlled some of the top teams in the country this season. She’s muffled the bats of No. 8 Arizona State, No. 17 Michigan, and No. 15 Baylor on her way to an impressive 1.37 ERA.

But Drake got the best of Doocy on Wednesday. The Bulldogs put on a hitting clinic on Iowa’s Pearl Field on a rainy Wednesday evening, and Iowa hitters were left in the mud as Bulldogs won a 3-1 decision.

In the circle, Drake’s Kailee Smith silenced Hawkeye bats. Coming into the game, Smith boasted a 1.27 ERA in her 20 appearances. Her performance on Wednesday evening only padded that stat.

“Every time you step on the field, no matter who it is, you have to change your game plan,” Iowa head coach Marla Looper said. “That’s the name of the game. Their pitcher’s job is to keep us off balance, and she did a good job of that.”

She allowed just 6 hits, and only 2 of those got out of the infield.

“You credit the pitcher, but we didn’t make the adjustments we needed to early,” Looper said.

Bulldog batters did what Iowa’s could not. Drake squared up on nearly each ball in the batter’s box to pour 11 hits hither and yon.

Drake scored a run in the second, third, and fourth innings, and had hits in each of the seven innings. Drake’s leadoff hitters in five of the seven innings had hits, sparking the offense.

“I just need to continue to go right at them,” Doocy said. “We just have to get ahead and stay ahead. It was a little shaky there for a second, but we got back on it.”

It could have been a lot worse for Doocy and the Hawkeyes. The Bulldogs left 10 runners stranded.

Drake played better in every aspect. Bulldog base runners stole 3 bases compared with Iowa’s zero. Drake had no errors to Iowa’s 1.

The Hawkeyes looked as if they were finally responding in the bottom of the seventh inning. Pinch hitter Lea Thompson hit a soft single to first base. Allie Wood struck out swinging to follow, but Aralee Bogar managed to hit a ball straight in the dirt in front of home plate and made it to first base safely. A wild pitch from Smith put Hawkeye runners on second and third with just one out and McKenzie Schneider in the box.

She hit a blooper over first base to put a run on the board for the Hawkeyes.

Just as Hawkeye fans were getting excited, Drake’s defense ended the game with a double play. Angela Schmiederer rocketed a ball to second base, and Drake turned the 6-4-3 double play to stop any momentum for good.