Cyclones Travel to Oklahoma State

AMES, Iowa - Iowa State (12-25, 1-8 Big 12) continues its week on the road, heading to Oklahoma State (18-16, 2-6 Big 12) this weekend after playing at Drake last Tuesday. The Cyclones split their 2011 series with the then-No. 17 Cowgirls in Ames.

The Cyclones, who fell at Drake, 8-6, won their last conference game, a 2-1 victory over N0. 14 Texas A&M, last Sunday. Hurler Tori Torrescano completed her fifth game of the season, second in league play, allowing just three hits and one run. Designated player Sara Rice drove in both Cyclone runs with a bases-loaded walk in the first and a double in the fifth to break a 1-1 tie.

Entering the weekend, Cyclones Dalyn Varela, Erica Miller and Torrescano will look to continue a 10-game tear in which the trio is hitting .370 with 30 hits and 16 RBIs. Torrescano leads the team with seven walks over the 10-game span and Tuesday's game marked the fifth time this season the junior recorded more walks than hits in a game.

Friday's series opener is scheduled for 7 p.m. CST. Games on Saturday and Sunday are slated for 3 p.m. and noon, respectively.

Cyclone Notebook

The Cyclones are back on the road in Big 12 action this weekend with a three-game series at Oklahoma State.
Iowa State won its last conference game, 2-1, last Sunday at home against No. 14 Texas A&M.
On Tuesday, the Cyclones rallied late but were unable to overcome Drake, falling 8-6.
Dalyn Varela, who was hit by a pitch in Tuesday's contest, is now second all-time at Iowa State, having been hit by a pitch 18 times during her career.
Tuesday was only the second time this season Iowa State has suffered a loss when scoring the game's first run.
The first four innings have become a results indicator for the Cyclones in 2012. The squad is 9-1 when leading after four but 0-22 when trailing after the first 24 outs have been recorded.
Erica Miller, who was 1-for-3 at Drake, has been the Cyclones' most consistent hitter this season, hitting above .350 in most situations: as leadoff, .476; with bases empty, .392; with runners, .368 and with runners in scoring position, .483.
With two outs in an inning, Tori Torrescano and Lexi Slater have been solid for Iowa State, hitting .432 and .379, respectively.
Both Miller and senior Dalyn Varela have hit safely in 8-of-9 conference games this season. Miller has three multi-hit games in league play, Varela has one.
Varela has begun to heat up at the plate since the beginning of Big 12 play, hitting .333 against conference foes, second on the team to Millers .393.
All 10 of Torrescano's homers this season have come against non-conference opponents, against whom she is hitting .373 with 10 home runs, 30 RBIs and slugging .853.
Nine Cyclones have led off for Iowa State more than 18 times this season and boast averages of over .420 in those situations. The team is led by Sara Davison who is hitting .591 as the leadoff (13-for-22).

Notable Big 12 Rankings

Tori Torrescano is fourth in the league with 10 home runs
Lexi Slater and Miller are sixth in the Big 12 with eight doubles this season
With 34 RBIs this season, Torrescano is fifth in the Big 12
Torrescano ranks ninth with 71 total bases on the year
The junior is slugging .703 this season, fifth-best in the conference.
Iowa State's six home runs against Brown ties with Texas Tech (vs. Midwestern State), for the most by a Big 12 team this season
The Cyclones' 35 total bases against Brown are tops in the league.
During their series, Iowa State and Texas Tech topped the league with the most runs scored (26), hits (27), RBIs (23), total bases (42) and assists (32) in a game this season. The first four marks were set during the March 30 game, the other on April 1.
Miller is one of three players with a league-best four runs scored in a game. Miller had four runs scored against Brown.
Lexi Slater ranks fourth in the Big 12 with 84 assists this season, followed by Dalyn Varela in sixth with 84 assists and Sara Davison who sits ninth with 69 assists.
Miller is fifth in putouts with 264
Iowa State ranks second overall in assists with 330 and is third in double plays turned with nine on the season.
In conference action, Iowa State's five double plays and 91 assists tie for the top spot in both categories.
Slater (30, T2nd) and Dalyn Varela (20, T6th) rank in the top 10 in assists during league games.
Slater is also one of three players with seven assists in a game.
Miller makes the top-10 during league play in five primary categories: hitting (.393, 6th), hits (11, T5th), home runs (3, T3rd), total bases (21, T3rd) and putouts (76, 5th).

Getting To Know Oklahoma State

Oklahoma State leads the all-time series 53-16 over the Cyclones.
The Cowgirls are 18-16 overall and 2-6 in Big 12 play this season and are receiving votes in the ESPN/USA Softball Coaches poll.
Iowa State split the two game 2011 series with the then-No. 17 Cowgirls in Ames.
The Cyclones took game one behind two solo homers from Heidi Kidwell and Tori Torrescano and a two-run dinger from Erica Miller.
OSU's runs were also scored by long balls, off the bat of Chelsea Garcia.
In game two, Torrescano hit her second home run in as many days to drive in Iowa State's lone run in a 15-1 five-inning loss.
Garcia hit her second three-run shot in the series and Sammy Joe Diffendaffer hit a solo home run to account for two of OSU's 16 hits in the win.
Five Cowgirls had multiple RBIs in the game, including Julie Ward who led the team with four runs driven in.
This season, Oklahoma State ranks last in the Big 12 overall and in conference in multiple categories (overall/conference): batting average (.213/.141), slugging (.270/.168), runs (88/12), hits (179/26) and home runs (6/1).
In league play, OSU is last in extra-base hits with only three (two doubles and a home run).
Ward accounts for the only conference home run.
Garcia leads the team with a .364 average through eight Big 12 games and a .409 slugging mark.
Both starting pitchers, Simone Freeman and Kat Espinosa, rank in the top-10 in the league in ERA. Freeman is seventh with a 2.88 ERA and Espinosa is 10th with an ERA of 3.12.

Players Mentioned

Sara Davison

Sara Davison

Heidi Kidwell

Heidi Kidwell

Erica Miller

Erica Miller

Sara Rice

Sara Rice

Lexi Slater

Tori Torrescano

Tori Torrescano

Dalyn Varela

Dalyn Varela

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