The Iowa State softball team went 2-1 in this weekend’s DeMarini Invitational in Palo Alto, California, with wins against the Colorado State Rams and the Portland State Vikings. The only loss came to the Stanford Cardinal by one run in extra innings.

In the invitational, the Cyclones played well for the most part defensively and a couple of Cyclones, senior center fielder Taylor Nearad and sophomore pitcher Tatum Ksiazek, made a name for themselves.

Cyclones defense playing well

After playing well defensively for most of the JoAnne Graf Classic, the Cyclones kept up their good play in the DeMarini Invitational. In three total games, the Cyclones gave up a total of nine runs.

In eight total games this season the Cyclones have given up 28 runs (3.5 per game).

The Cyclones have a fielding percentage .978 which is the best percentage among Big 12 teams.

Taylor Nearad bounces back

In the five games the Cyclones played in the JoAnne Graf Classic, Nearad had two hits in 13 at-bats which left her batting average at .154. At the Demarini Invitational, Nearad had four hits in eight at-bats and scored in all three games.

Nearad, a two-time DII Junior College player of the year, now leads the Cyclones in slugging percentage with a .545 percentage.

Along with playing well in the batter’s box, Nearad is playing well out in center field as she has a perfect fielding percentage.

Tatum Ksiazek shines in debut

On Sunday, the Vikings looked like their offense was going to put up a lot of runs against the Cyclones as they scored two runs in the 1.1 innings.

However, the Cyclones put Ksiazek on the mound in the top of the second inning, and she made a significant impact.

In 5.2 innings against the Vikings, the Bondurant, Iowa, native shut down Vikings batters, as only three runners reached base after Ksiazek came in to pitch for the Cyclones.

Ksiazek allowed no hits or runs against the Rams, and the Cyclones beat the Vikings 3-2 on Sunday.

What’s next?

The Cyclones travel out to Charleston, South Carolina, to play in the Holy City Showdown starting on Friday where they will face Marshall, Radford, Appalachian State and Dartmouth.