Completed Event: Softball versus Iowa on April 21, 2026 , Loss , 2, to, 7
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Iowa State University Athletics
Big Weekend Ahead For Cyclones In Arizona
02.15.2012 | Softball
AMES, Iowa - Iowa State softball (2-1, 0-0 Big 12) hits the road this weekend, traveling to Tempe, Ariz. to play at the Littlewood Classic hosted by Arizona State. The Cyclones will play teams from Minnesota (twice), Illinois State, Iowa and Arizona State during the three-day event.
Coming off opening weekend, the Cyclones are hitting .309 as a team, led by Tori Torrescano who had four hits in eight at bats last weekend and slugged 1.375, driving in four runs, all with two outs. Tied with Western Illinois in the top of the eighth inning on Sunday, Torrescano slammed a two-run, two-out shot to score the winning run. Sophomore Anna Cole hit her own two-run homer two batters later in the frame and finished the weekend with three RBIs and a .900 slugging percentage.
Facing off against the Cyclones on Friday morning is Minnesota (3-1, 0-0 Big Ten). The teams have not played on neutral ground since 1989 and have split the neutral-site series 3-3. The Cyclones won the last neutral site game, 6-1 but fell twice last season to the Gophers in a doubleheader. Game one of last year's series in Ames was a battle of the pitchers as former Cyclone Rachel Zabriskie and Sara Moulton each threw 10 innings in the 1-0 Iowa State loss. Moulton returns in 2012 and will look to stifle the Cyclone offense again if her number is called on Friday or Sunday, the second scheduled meetings between the teams this weekend.
Illinois State (3-1, 0-0 Missouri Valley) and Iowa State have faced each other 13 times in their histories but it might as well be a new series, as the squads have not played since 1999; the only remaining person from that game still with either team is the Redbirds' head coach Melinda Fischer, now in her 26th season at Illinois State. The Redbirds enter the weekend having lost to current No. 1 Florida last weekend and are looking to capitalize on returning seven of their position players and three pitchers from last season's Missouri Valley championship team. During opening weekend, Lizzie Andrews and Nichelle Harrison plated five runs each for Illinois State with Jhavon Hamilton adding four RBIs and all three will look to pile on again Friday.
Another familiar foe for the Cyclones this weekend will be the Iowa Hawkeyes (3-2, 0-0 Big Ten). The teams met last season in Iowa City where the Hawkeyes prevailed, 4-3, in a tight contest. The Cyclones have the 6-2 edge when meeting Iowa on neutral ground, including an 8-2 eight-inning win in 2010 at the Metrodome Tournament in Minneapolis, Minn. Iowa has already played one Big 12 opponent this season, falling to then-No. 7 Baylor last weekend and to Arkansas. Megan Black was the hottest hitter for the Hawkeyes during the opening stretch, hitting .583 with seven hits and one RBI.
Reigning College World Series champ No. 6 Arizona State (3-2, 0-0 Pac-12) awaits the Cyclones on Saturday night. The Sun Devils fell to McNeese State and then No. 9 Tennessee at home last weekend, falling from the No. 1 ranking. Last year, ASU finished 60-6 en route to its fourth national title and the squad returns five of its starters this season. Senior Annie Lockwood produced a team-high eight RBIs in the Sun Devils' first five games and sophomore Bailey Wigness went 6-for-9 during the weekend, driving in three runs.
The weekend tournament kicks off Friday morning at 10 a.m. CST against Minnesota, followed by Illinois State at noon. On Saturday, the Cyclones' first pitch of the day is slated for 2 p.m. against Illinois State and return to the diamond at 8:30 p.m. against Arizona State. Sunday will mark the second meeting with the Gophers, another 10 a.m. start.
Cyclone Notebook
- The Cyclones take to the road for the first time this season, heading to Arizona State, Feb. 17-19 for the Little Wood Classic. Iowa State will play five games against teams from Minnesota, Illinois State, Iowa and Arizona State.
- The hosting Sun Devils are the reigning College World Series champions.
- Iowa State is 2-1 after its first weekend of competition, defeating Green Bay and Western Illinois after falling to Valparaiso.
- The Cyclones hit .309 through its first three games, helped by Tori Torrescano and Kayla Hardiman who finished the stretch hitting .500.
- Junior Torrescano picked up where she left off last season, gathering four hits and four RBIs with two home runs for a 1.375 slugging percentage.
- Torrescano's second home run of the weekend was in the top of the eighth against Western Illinois, a two-run shot that scored the winning run over the Leathernecks.
- Hardiman, a freshman, started two games at catcher but it was her bat that provided three hits and an RBI for the Cyclones.
- The Cyclones slammed four homers on the weekend with Erica Miller and Anna Cole each adding one home run to Torrescano's two.
- Torrescano and freshman Miranda Kemp took most of the load in the circle. Kemp started against Valparaiso, absorbing the loss, and against Western Illinois against whom she didn't allow an earned run. Torrescano pitched a complete game win over Green Bay and threw two innings of relief against Western Illinois.
- The Cyclones hit .450 to lead off the inning last weekend and were 19-of-44 (.432) in advancing the runners.
- In three games, Iowa State stranded 13 base runners as opposed to 18 such runners by the opponents.
- Leadoff hitters were 6-for-20 (.300) against the Cyclones, led by Torrescano who held leadoff hitters to 0-for-7.
- Outfielder Jennifer Drahozal started all three games for the Cyclones, getting the first two hits of her career against Valparaiso in the season opener after going 0-for-7 with one walk a season ago.
- Freshman Jorden Smith connected for the first hit of her career against Western Illinois, a triple down the left field line.
- Seven Cyclones had multi-hit games over the weekend and Iowa State had at least two multi-hit players in each game.
- In the weekend finale against the Leathernecks, Torrescano worked two walks, the first multi-walk game of her career.
- Heading into the weekend tournament in Tempe, Ariz. five Cyclones have at least two-game hitting streaks on the line. Cole and Torrescano are the only Cyclones to hit safely in the first three games of the season.
- Cole is sitting on a four-game hitting streak dating back to last season's final game at Missouri.
Looking Back: Cyclones vs. Minnesota and Iowa
- The Cyclones went 0-3 against Minnesota and Iowa last season and will see both squads again this weekend at Arizona State. The Cyclones and Gophers will meet twice, the first time on Friday morning and again on Sunday morning.
- In the first game of a doubleheader last year, the Cyclones and Gophers were scoreless going into the 10th inning when Minnesota plated the only run of the game on Kari Dorle doubled in the lone run of the game for the 1-0 extra-innings win.
- Iowa State collected seven hits and stranded eight runners in the first game of the DH.
- In game two, third baseman Dalyn Varela homered to drive in Iowa State's three runs but Minnesota came alive for 11 runs, winning 11-3 in five innings.
- In those two games against Minnesota, the Cyclones walked once (Heidi Kidwell, game two).
- At Iowa, the Cyclones dropped a heartbreaking, 4-3 decision to fall to 19-20 for the season.
- Erin Johnson was the only Iowa State player with two hits in the contest. Tori Torrescano and Amandine Habben each added one hit.
Getting to Know Minnesota
- The Golden Gophers are 41-30 all-time against the Cyclones.
- The teams have split their neutral site meetings, 3-3 and have not played at a neutral site since 1989 when Iowa State took the 6-1 victory.
- Minnesota is 3-1 heading into Friday's game, its only loss at the hands of UNLV, 2-1.
- The Gophers return half their squad, including five position starters and both pitchers from last year's 31-24 team.
- Sophomore pitcher Sara Moulton (2-1) was solid in her first weekend in the circle, appearing four times, throwing two complete games, allowing just three hits and two earned runs.
- Utility freshman Kaitlyn Richardson adjusted quickly to the collegiate ranks, driving in a team-high six runs last weekend, hitting .417.
- Four Gophers compiled five hits last weekend and Alex Davis added four, helping Minnesota to 98 runs through four games.
- Last year, the Cyclones and Gophers played a doubleheader in Ames, with the visitors earning both wins. The first, a 1-0 win in 10 innings and the second an 11-3 run-rule win.
- Moulton stifled the Cyclones in the first game, dueling with former Cyclone Rachel Zabriskie through all 10 innings for the shutout.
- In game two, Minnesota starter Alissa Koch allowed three earned runs through five innings but utility player Sara DuPaul had three hits and five RBIs in the game to lead the Gophers to the win.
Getting to Know Illinois State
- Iowa State leads the all-time series 7-6 over the Redbirds.
- Illinois State is 3-1 after the first weekend, falling to then-No. 4 Florida.
- The Missouri Valley's reigning champs return 14 of 18 letterwinners from a year ago including three pitchers.
- Outfielder Lizzie Andrews led the Redbirds at the plate last weekend, driving in five runs on five hits and slugging 1.100.
- Redshirt sophomore Nichelle Harrison also added five RBIs and junior Jhavon Hamilton drove in four runs.
- Senior pitcher Jorden Birch was unblemished in her three appearances for the Redbirds during the first four games. Birch allowed three hits and no runs in 11 innings of work. On the weekend, opponents were hitting .086 against the now 3-0 right-hander.
Getting to Know Iowa
- The Cyclones are 38-33-1 all-time against the Hawkeyes.
- Iowa State suffered a close 4-3 loss at Iowa in 2011.
- The Hawkeyes return six of their starters from last year's 27-24 team, including both pitchers.
- Iowa is 3-2 through five games, losing to No. 7 Baylor and Arkansas last weekend.
- Three Hawkeyes plated three runs each for Iowa during the opening stretch as the team hit .363.
- Megan Black leads the squad hitting .583 in her five starts. Black had seven hits and one RBI last weekend.
- Returning pitchers Kayla Massey and Chelsea Lyon both took to the circle three times in Iowa's five games, Massey finishing with a 0.86 ERA and a 1-1 record and Lyon compiling a 5.25 ERA and a 2-1 record.
- Last year against the Cyclones, Massey and Lyon allowed just one earned run (Lyon) as the Hawkeyes beat the Cyclones.
Getting to Know No. 6 Arizona State
- Arizona State holds the 8-4 edge over Iowa State in the all-time record book.
- The Sun Devils are the reigning national champions, their fourth title in program history.
- Arizona State finished 60-6, winning the Pac-10 championship last year and returns five of its starters from the national championship team.
- Playing at home last weekend, ASU got off to a 3-2 start, losing to McNeese State and No. 9/14 Tennessee.
- Sophomore Bailey Wigness is off to a hot start, going 6-for-9 in opening weekend iwth three RBIs.
- Senior Annie Lockwood is the biggest run-producers for the Sun Devils through seven games, driving eight runs last weekend.
- During the opening stretch, six hitters in the ASU lineup scored at least four runs.
- Right-hander Hillary Bach made four appearances in the circle for the Sun Devils, going 3-0 and pitching 19.1 innings without allowing a run.
- Dallas Excobedo threw 14.2 innings last weekend, allowing eight runs and striking out 22 en route to a 1-1 record.
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