Cyclones Drop Two Saturday At Knights Classic

ORLANDO, Fla. – Iowa State (5-4) dropped two on Saturday at the Knights Classic at the UCF Softball Complex. The Cyclones fell 3-1 to Penn State (5-4) in game one, before a 9-1 loss to UCF (8-2) in the final game of the day.

Penn State 3, Iowa State 1
The Cyclones missed out on a golden opportunity in the early going. Freshman Carli Spelhaug stepped to the plate in the bottom of the first inning and ripped a lead-off triple to right field – Iowa State's first triple of the season. However, the Nittany Lions got out of the inning without any runs crossing home plate, thanks in part to a hard-hit line drive off Hannah Carter's bat that was snagged by the PSU third baseman.

It would be a sign of things to come, as the Cyclones struggled to generate offense against PSU pitcher Bailey Parshall, who tallied 13 strikeouts in the outing.

Penn State broke up the 0-0 tie with a solo home run by Kennedy Legg in the top of the fourth inning to go ahead 1-0.

Carli Spelhaug once again gave the Iowa State a boost in the home half of the fifth, crushing a solo home to left field. It was the first homer of her career and tied the game at 1-1. However, the Nittany Lions plated a run in each the sixth and seventh inning to pull past the Cyclones late.

Starting pitcher Ellie Spelhaug was charged with the loss despite an excellent outing in the circle. The freshman allowed just four hits in 6.0 innings of action, to go with four strikeouts.

UCF 9, Iowa State 1
The dangerous UCF offense got going early in the night cap at the UCF Softball Complex. Karissa Ornelas drew first blood with a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Shannon Doherty from third. Kyra Klarkowski added to the lead in the following at-bat, putting down a bunt for an RBI single, as Denali Schappacher raced home to score, putting the Knights in front 2-0.

It was more of the same for the Knights in the third, as Georgia Blair hit a lead-off home run, followed by a two-RBI double by Juliana Wilson later in the inning, as the Cyclones fell behind 5-0.

The Iowa State offense struggled to find its footing again in game two. The Cyclones' first quality scoring opportunity came in the top of the third inning, when Carli Spelhaug ripped a single up the middle. The speedy freshman then stole second and advanced to third on a UCF error, but was left stranded there.

Freshman Morgan Wright, making the first start of her career, helped spark the Cyclones in the top of the fifth. Wright crushed a lead-off double to right field for her first career hit. She was then pinch-run for by fellow freshman Lea Nelson. Nelson, a speedster from Davenport, Iowa, later scored from second on a UCF throwing error to cut the deficit to 5-1.

The Knight offense surged once again in the bottom of the fifth. Ornelas collected another sac fly, followed by a two-run home run off Wilson's bat to make the lead 8-1. A wild pitch with runners in scoring position in the bottom of the sixth would put the game away for UCF, finishing the 9-1 run-rule.

On Deck
Iowa State will close out the Knights Classic on Sunday vs. FAU at 10:30 a.m. CT at the UCF Softball Complex.

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Team Stats

Carli Spelhaug

Bryn Hanrahan

Mikayla Ramos

Sami Williams

Players Mentioned

Hannah Carter

Lea Nelson

Carli Spelhaug

Ellie Spelhaug

Morgan Wright

Players Mentioned

Hannah Carter

Lea Nelson

Carli Spelhaug

Ellie Spelhaug

Morgan Wright

Sponsors

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