Offense Soared in 2011

FINAL NOTES

AMES, Iowa - Head softball coach Stacy Gemeinhardt-Cesler mixed together one returning starter, an unshakeable junior infielder and a duo of power-hitting sophomores with a record-breaking pitcher and a few dashes of up-and-coming freshmen and returning talent. What she got in return was a team that broke or tied six school records in 2011 and a first-time All-Big 12 selection.

Click on the video link above to hear what Gemeinhardt-Cesler had to say about the 2011 Cyclones of and what they mean for the future of Iowa State softball.

Cyclone Notebook

The 2011 Cyclones put together one of the best offensive seasons in Iowa State history including tying or breaking six school records despite playing only 49 games, the fewest games played since the 2004 team played a 44 game season.

Sophomore Erica Miller earned her first Big 12 award, named to the Second Team All-Big 12.

Iowa State set program records in slugging (.408) and on-base percentage (.353) this season while its .270 batting average is second all-time behind 2010's .275 mark.

The 225 runs scored by the Cyclones beat out the 221 runs from 2010 for the top spot in ISU history and the 196 RBI by the offense tied the school record set in 2010.

First baseman Miller drove in 40 of the Cyclones 225 runs, tying the single-season RBI record set in 2006 by Ashley Killeen.

Behind 11 home runs each by sophomores Miller and Tori Torrescano, the Cyclones hit 36 dingers in 2011, just two behind 2008's record of 38.

Miller and Torrescano's 11 homers tied the single-season record set by Lindsey Herrin in 2002.

Six Cyclones were named to the 2011 Academic All-Big 12 teams. Amandine Habben, Rachel Zabriskie and Erin Johnson were named to the first team with Lauren Kennewell, Heidi Kidwell and Tori Torrescano getting second team nods.

Keeping pace with each other is the theme of 2011 for Torrescano and Miller. Each player has 15 multi-hit games this season.

Halfway through her Cyclone career, Miller ranks fifth at ISU with 18 career home runs, nine shy of Erica Martinez's (2000-03) record of 27.

The team blew away the single-season walks mark, drawing 148 bases-on-balls. The 2010 team notched 113 walks.

Freshman Sara Davison led the Cyclones with 24 walks, the second-most in Cyclone history and the most of any freshman in program history.

The Cyclones finished the season ranked 68th in RPI. 10 of ISU's opponents finished in the top 30: Texas (3), Missouri (5), Oklahoma (9), Baylor (11), Texas A&M (14), Nebraska (16), Notre Dame (17), Oklahoma State (21), Tulsa (28) and Texas Tech (30).

Five current Cyclones have 10 or more multi-hit games this season: Erica Miller (15), Tori Torrescano (15), Heidi Kidwell (12), Sara Davison (11) and Dalyn Varela (11).

Miller (18) and Torrescano (10) are the only current Cyclones with 10 or more multi-RBI games in their careers.

The duo is only the second pair of Cyclone teammates to hit at least 10 home runs in the same year. Herrin (11) and Erica Martinez (10) had double-digit homers in 2002.

With 31 hits this season, Kidwell rose to a tie for eighth all-time at ISU with 145 hits. The centerfielder is also ranked seventh with 84 career runs scored, 10 behind her sister Kelsey who sits at No. 3 with 94.

Dalyn Varela stole the first base of her career in the final series of the season, at Missouri on May 14.

Davison became only the seventh player of the season to take Missouri ace Chelsea Thomas deep, homering in the fourth inning in the first game of the doubleheader.

Kidwell is the only Cyclone with two or more years of experience who has never been hit by a pitch.

Miller led the charge through the Big 12 schedule in 2011 as the only Cyclone to bat over .300 (.333) against conference foes. Miller finished tied for third in conference home runs (5) and sixth in slugging in conference contests (.630). Torrescano also had five conference home runs.

Four Cyclones batted over .300 for the season, led by Torrescano at .325. Varela (.315), Kidwell (.311) and Miller (.304) were the others.

Zabriskie in the Record Books
In four seasons with the Cyclones, Rachel Zabriskie became the most prolific pitcher in Iowa State history, working her way into the school and Big 12 record books. Zabriskie leaves Iowa State holding seven program records and ranked in the top 10 in three Big 12 categories.

Iowa State Records:
884.2 Innings Pitched - First
815 Strikeouts - First
171 Appearances - First
138 Games Started - First
87 Complete Games - First
67 Wins - First
13 Shutouts - Seventh
7 Saves - First

Big 12 Records:
884.2 Innings Pitched - Ninth
815 Strikeouts - 10th
171 Appearances - Seventh

Zabriskie's Elite Company

Big 12 Strikeout Leaders
1 2,265 Cat Osterman, Texas - 2002-03, 05-06
2. 1,226 Amanda Renfrom, Texas Tech - 1998-2001
3. 1,151 Lauren Bay, Oklahoma State - 2000-03
4. 988 Meagan Denny, Texas - 2005-08
5. 945 Peaches James, Nebraska - 2001-04
6. 936 Ashley DeBuhr, Nebraska - 2004-07
7. 865 Stephanie Falk, Missouri - 1998-2001
8. 858 Leigh Ann Walker, Nebraska - 1999-2002
9. 845 Jessica Hoppock, Oklahoma State - 1996-97, 1999-2000
10. 815 Rachel Zabriskie, Iowa State - 2008-11

Conference Warrior
Junior third baseman Dalyn Varela was Cyclone-gold this season in big at bats against Big 12 foes. In 18 games, Varela hit .280 in conference with runners and .400 (6-for15) with runners in scoring position. Regardless of the number of runners, Varela hit .348 with two outs and knocked in a team-high seven two-out runs.

Going on the road against the fierce Big 12 didn't faze Varela either. In nine league road games, Varela went 4-for-13 with runners and 3-for-6 with runners in scoring position with three two-out RBIs.

Tinkering with the Lineup
Employing a new-look team in 2011, head coach Stacy Gemeinhardt-Cesler constantly tweaked her lineup to find the best look against each opponent. As a result, only five players had played at least 30 games in the same position and only the first four batters had 25 games or more at the same spot in the batting order.

Lineup Leaders by Position
Pitcher - Rachel Zabriskie, 34 games
Catcher - Amandine Habben, 31 games
First base - Erica Miller, 28 games
Second base - Sara Rice and Erin Johnson, 22 games
Third base - Dalyn Varela, 29 games
Shortstop - Sara Davison, 48 games
Left field - Tori Torrescano, 15 games
Center field - Heidi Kidwell, 49 games
Right field - Anna Cole, 33 games
Designated player - Tori Torrescano, 29 games

Lineup Leaders by Batting Order
Leadoff - Heidi Kidwell, 46 games
2nd spot - Sara Davison, 33 games
3rd spot - Dalyn Varela, 33 games
Cleanup - Tori Torrescano, 28 games
5th spot - Tori Torrescano, 20 games
6th spot - Anna Cole, 22 games
7th spot - Amandine Habben, 16 games
8th spot - Sara Rice, 14 games
9th spot - Kelsey Enslin, 14 games

Watch Kidwell Run
Junior outfielder Heidi Kidwell sits seventh all-time at Iowa State with 29 career stolen bases. In 2011, Kidwell went 15-19 in steals a pattern emerged when trying to predict Kidwell's next theft.

SB after leading off an inning: 11-14
SB when not leading off an inning: 4-5
SB with no outs: 11-14
SB with 1 out: 2-3
SB with 2 outs: 2-2

Davison Lights up Freshman Season
Shortstop Sara Davison was hot all season long for Iowa State, hitting .288, fifth-best on the team. The only freshman to start or play in all games this season.

Among the Cyclones, Davison was first in sacrifices (8), tied for second in doubles (6), third in runs scored (28) and fifth in both at bats (125) and hits (36). She was also is 4-for-4 in stolen bases.

Video: Season In Review

Players Mentioned

Anna Cole

Sara Davison

Amandine Habben

Amandine Habben

Erin Johnson

Lauren Kennewell

Lauren Kennewell

Heidi Kidwell

Heidi Kidwell

Erica Miller

Erica Miller

Sara Rice

Tori Torrescano

Tori Torrescano

Dalyn Varela

Dalyn Varela

Rachel Zabriskie

Rachel Zabriskie

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