Cyclone Softball Adds Five For 2012-13

AMES, Iowa - Cyclone softball coach Stacy Gemeinhardt-Cesler added five players to her 2012-13 squad, the seventh-year head coach announced Thursday. Next season's newcomers include Iowa natives Aly Cappaert, Riley Fisher and Allie Ferguson, Illinois native Alex Tinaglia and Brittney Gomez from Texas.

A two-time all-state selection from Ankeny, Aly Cappaert was named the Iowa Girls Coaches Association Co-Player of the Year in 2011 after hitting .582 as a junior at Ankeny High School. Heading into her senior year at Ankeny, Cappaert holds single season records in double (21), RBIs (51), home runs (13) and walks (70). Her 70 walks last season are second all-time in the state of Iowa. Through 119 games at Ankeny, Cappaert has compiled a career batting average of 512, driving home 156 runs and smashing 19 home runs.

"Aly is a corner player and the reigning co-player of the year in the state of Iowa," Gemeinhardt-Cesler said. "She hits for a ton of power and average and does a really good job overall. I think it's really great that we have someone so close to Ames that is such a great player coming to Iowa State next season."

From New Sharon, Iowa, Allie Ferguson has never hit below .434 at North Mahaska High School and hit a career-best .477 with 12 RBIs as a junior in 2011. The three-time first team all-district outfielder holds the North Mahaska record for single season stolen bases with 22 in 2011 and is second all-time with 47 runs scored, also in 2011, and 56 hits, which she accomplished in her freshman season.

"Allie Ferguson is a very fast outfielder," Gemeinhardt-Cesler said. "I think she is a diamond in the rough and will turn into a great player who our fans will enjoy watching."

Iowa State's third newcomer from the state of Iowa is the 2011 Wheaties Player of the Year in Iowa, Riley Fisher, a shutdown pitcher who compiled a 23-3 record last season at Des Moines East. Fisher is 54-16 all-time at East and struck out a career-best 232 batters last spring on her way to being named the Des Moines Register Pitcher of the year and her to third all-Central Iowa Metropolitan League, all-district and all-state teams.

"We've been recruiting Riley for a long time," Gemeinhardt-Cesler said. "We're really excited about her and we think she'll be able to help our pitching staff out right away."

A native of New Braunfels, Texas infielder/outfielder Brittany Gomez hit over .500 in both her freshman and junior seasons at Canyon High School and helped Canyon win the 4A Texas State Championship in 2009. As a freshman, Gomez was named the Texas Newcomer of the Year and is a two-time first team all-state selection. After collecting 76 hits in Canyon's run to the state regionals last season, Gomez was touted as the Herald Zeitung Player of the Year.

"Brittany Gomez played for the same summer team as [current Cyclone] Jorden Smith, the Texas Bombers, which one of the top club teams in Texas," Gemeinhardt-Cesler said. "She has played middle infield and the outfield and with her speed and hitting ability, Brittany can do a lot of things offensively including bunting, hitting and slap-hitting. She's an important addition for us next season."

Infielder Alex Tinaglia joins the Cyclones from Arlington, Ill. where she was named to the Daily Herald first team all-area and first team all-conference in 2011. Tinaglia has a career batting average of .479 at John Hersey High School, driving in 102 runs on 133 hits in three seasons. Tinaglia won both the 2010 Woodstock Heatwave Championship and the 2011 Elgin Windy City Showdown U18 Gold Championship with the Mount Prospect Power club team leading the Power this season in hits, singles, doubles, home runs, stolen bases, runs and RBIs.

"Alex is a great infielder and she'll add essential depth for us," Gemeinhardt-Cesler said. "She has experience at the lead-off spot in the batting order and does a really nice job getting on base. It's always important to bring in players who can consistently put themselves in scoring position and Alex can do that for us."

The 2011-12 Cyclones begin their spring campaign Feb. 11-12 at a tournament host by Northern Iowa.

Iowa State University Athletics

Cyclone Softball Adds Five For 2012-13

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