Cyclones Travel To No. 16 Baylor

AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State Cyclones (14-16, 0-0 Big 12) open Big 12 play this weekend with a three-game series against No. 16 Baylor (26-7, 0-2 Big 12).

The trip extends the Cyclones' streak of road games, which will reach 28 games at the end of the weekend.

Iowa State, which has not won in Waco since 2008, is setting the table for a prolific season as the team and its individual players are on a record-setting pace in numerous statistical categories. Tori Torrescano's 10 home runs are four short of her single-season record set last season and have helped the team to 21 home runs halfway through the season, the program's ninth-most homers in a season. Runs (181) and RBI (158) for the team also rank in the top-10 for a single season, and Torrescano and Erica Miller boast 31 and 32 RBI, respectively, closing in quickly on the top-10 list.

Freshman Brittany Gomez has scored 32 of Iowa State's runs this season; no Cyclone has reached 40 runs scored since Jenny Condon set the Iowa State record of 45 in 1989. Gomez already holds the school record for stolen bases with 20 and is a large reason the 2013 club is ranked fifth in program history for steals in a season. Junior Sarah Hawryluk is set to join Gomez in the top-10 in steals, currently ranked 11th with 12 on the year.

The Cyclones offense will be challenged in all areas this weekend against a Bears squad known for pitching. The three-player staff has the second-lowest ERA in the nation at 1.35 and starters Heather Stearns and Whitney Canion have walked a combined 48 batters in 173.0 innings of work. Opponents have stolen just seven bases off the Bears this season.

On offense, Baylor is led by Sarah Smith and Kaitlyn Thumann who are hitting .422 and .417, respectively. Even as opponents haven't had success stealing on Baylor, Thumann and Kathy Shelton have set a blistering pace on the bases, combining for 41 steals in 45 attempts.

The Cyclones and Bears will play a doubleheader on Friday, March 29, with games slated for 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. CDT at Getterman Stadium on the Baylor campus.

Cyclone Notebook
• Conference play begins this weekend as the Cyclones travel to Waco, Texas for a three game series against No. 16 Baylor.
• The Cyclones recently returned from a 10-game Florida road trip in which the team went 4-6 and senior Tori Torrescano tossed her first career no-hitter.
• During the trip, freshman Brittany Gomez racked up 17 hits and eight stolen bases, breaking the Iowa State single-season record (she now has 20 stolen bases this season).
• Gomez has stolen two bases in a game six times this season.
• Thanks team stolen bases leaders Gomez (20), Sarah Hawryluk (12) and Maddie Reese (7), Iowa State is 29th in the nation with 1.77 stolen bases per game. Non-conference opponent Alabama is first with 2.64 steals per game.
• Including Gomez's team-high .500 average during the tour of Florida, four Cyclones hit .345 or better.
• Both Torrescano and Erica Miller drove in double-digit runs during the trip and the duo combined for seven home runs.
• As a team, Iowa State drove in 20 runs with two outs including four such RBI from Jorden Spendlove, five from Gomez and six off Torrescano's bat.
• For the season, the Cyclones have driven in 59 two-out runs, totaling 37 percent of their overall RBI.
• On the defensive side, Iowa State has been solid as well, currently ranking 18th in the nation with a .973 fielding percentage. (Ole Miss is tops with a mark of .983)
• Heading into Big 12 play, Torrescano has 10 home runs on the year, four off her single-season record set in 2012 and the 24th-most home runs in the country.
• Batters are hitting at a .514 clip with the bases loaded this season, led by Miller (5-for-5) and Spendlove (4-for-7).
• Reese has been stellar at the plate with two outs, hitting .440 (11-for-25).
• As a team, the Cyclones are hitting .323 with runners in scoring position, including above-.400 marks from Miller (.474), Reese (.419) and Spendlove (.400).
• Over the last two seasons, Iowa State has struggled in pinch hitting situations, hitting .200 in 2012 and .038 in 2011. No player with multiple pinch hit at-bats has hit above .167 in either of those seasons. This season, Iowa State is hitting .323 in pinch hit at-bats and Liana Henry is 6-for-9 (.667) in pinch hitting appearances this season.
• The Cyclones are 14-2 this season when tallying at least as many hits as their opponents.
• The team is 13-2 both when its foes score five or fewer runs and when a game is tied or when the Cyclones lead after four innings.
• The first inning is key for the Cyclones this season. The squad is 9-4 when it scores in the opening frame and 9-2 when leading after one inning. However, the Cyclones are 2-10 when their opponent touches home in the first and 1-10 when trailing after one inning.

Big 12 Notes and Rankings
• The Cyclones are third in fielding with a .973 percentage.
• Tori Torrescano is third in the league with 10 home runs this season and is sixth with a slugging percentage of .759.
• Brittany Gomez and Sarah Hawryluk are two of seven players with more than one triple this season and tied for third in the league with two.
• Gomez ranks second with 20 stolen bases on the year and Hawryluk has also cracked the top 10, coming in seventh with 12 steals.
• Torrescano's 20 walks are the eighth-most in the league.
• Gomez it tied for sixth with 32 runs scored on the year.
• Jorden Spendlove is third with 10 doubles.
• Erica Miller's 32 RBI are tied for the sixth-most in the Big 12 and her .491 OBP is ninth.
• Torrescano is among the top-10 pitchers in the league in innings pitched (99, 7th), appearances (21, 6th), starts (15, T5th) and complete games (8, T6th).

Scouting No. 16 Baylor
• Baylor leads the all-time series with Iowa State, 23-11, including a series sweep in 2012.
• The Bears are 26-7 this season and 0-2 in Big 12 play, falling twice to Texas to open conference play.
• Among Baylor's wins is a 6-2 upset of No. 3 Arizona State.
• Baylor's pitching is its strength this season. The three-woman staff has the second-lowest ERA in the nation at 1.35.
• Hurlers Heather Stearns and Whitney Canion rank among the top-25 in the country in individual ERA, strikeouts per seven innings pitched and hits per seven innings. Stearns also ranks eighth in walks per seven innings, with just eight walks to her name in her 65.1 innings of work.
• Sarah Smith and Kaitlyn Thumann are helping to keep the Baylor team batting average hovering at .300, as the two are hitting .422 and .417, respectively this season. Only one other player on the team is hitting above .300.
• Thumann and Kathy Shelton have proven dangerous on the basepaths as well, with Shelton leading the squad with 21 steals and Thumann nabbing 20 bases.

Players Mentioned

Brittany Gomez

Sarah Hawryluk

Liana Henry

Erica Miller

Erica Miller

Maddie Reese

Jorden Spendlove

Jorden Spendlove

Tori Torrescano

Tori Torrescano

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