Cyclones look to build from Penn State loss
Senior pitcher Tori Torrescano throws a pitch in the ISU game against Indiana State on Feb. 10 at Bergstrom Complex. Torrescano pitched the whole game and gave up seven hits in the 7-2 victory.
February 26, 2013
Some losses don’t hurt as much as others. The excitement and enjoyment of getting back into the season and playing a sport one loves often will outweigh the early losses.
The ISU softball team split a pair of games on Feb. 24 in the Carolina Classic after both games on Feb. 23 were canceled due to rain. The team defeated Iona in the first contest 11-1 in five innings and fell to Penn State in the afternoon game 9-8 in their first extra-inning game of the season.
“After the games just kept getting pushed back hour after hour and finally being canceled it made the team more excited to play on Sunday,” said pitcher Tori Torrescano. “I think it would’ve been weird to play Saturday after the wear on our heads and mental confusion with the delays.”
Torrescano was the only Cyclone to hit a home run all weekend. She went deep with two outs and a runner on in the top of the sixth inning against Penn State.
Iowa State gave up a grand slam to Cassidy Bell of the Nittany Lions in the bottom of the fourth inning, but was able to rally back in the fifth inning on a two-RBI single by Sarah Davison, who went three-for-three at the plate in the afternoon game with four RBIs.
“Whenever I get runners in scoring position, I’ve been trying to get it to the right side of the field,” said second-basemen Sara Davison. “I ended up with a couple of those falling for hits.”
Both Davison and coach Stacy Gemeinhardt-Cesler hope that the sequence of events between third and fifth innings is a sign of what is to come for the rest of the season.
“That’s the big difference between this year’s team and last year’s team,” Davison said. “We are really resilient and don’t let plays get us down. It’s still the same game, no matter what the score is.”
Junior pitcher Taylor Smith (2-1) took both decisions on Feb. 24, getting the win against Iona and taking the loss against Penn State.
“Its definitely a team sport. Tori will get us plenty of wins this season,” Gemeinhardt-Cesler said. “We were excited to hit the field at have the opportunity to play at a really nice stadium.”
