ISU Struggles at Fall Hawkeye Classic

AMES, Iowa ? The Iowa State softball team lost three of four games over the weekend at the Fall Hawkeye Classic in Iowa City. The tournament, hosted by Iowa, was played at the Hawkeye's Pearl Field. The Cyclones played two games on Saturday and two games on Sunday.

ISU started out the tournament by losing to North Dakota State, 6-2, in eight innings. The game was tied at 1-1 in the bottom of the seventh, but the Cyclones gave up four hits in the eighth inning to tie the score. Drake was Iowa State's next opponent and although the Cyclones had three hits, they couldn't score any runs and lost the game 8-0.

On Sunday, ISU played Drake again and came away with a 3-2 win. Junior Cary Akins hit a single to left field in the bottom of the sixth inning to set up the win. Freshman Kristy Olsen, pitch running for Akins, stole second and senior Kim Rodgers got hit by the pitch and was sent to first base. Sophomore Jessica Quade then belted a three-run home run to record the winning run. The Cyclones concluded the tournament with a game against host Iowa. Quade had a hit for ISU, but the Cyclones lost, 6-0.

“We really need to get better in all parts of our game,” said head coach Ruth Crowe. “We had bad pitching and bad defense and any time you have that combination, you're going to give up runs.”

The Cyclones will continue their fall season on Saturday when they travel to Cedar Falls to take part in the Big Four Challenge. The tournament includes Iowa State, Iowa, Drake and Northern Iowa.

Fall Hawkeye Classic Results

Saturday, Sept. 18

North Dakota State 6, Iowa State 2 (eight innings)

Drake 8, Iowa State 0

Sunday, Sept. 19

Iowa State 3, Drake 2

Iowa 6, Iowa State 0