The Iowa State softball team went 2-2 in the National Invitational Tournament over the weekend, which saw the team facing tough competition and close games.

Pool play began the tournament and pitted Iowa State vs. Indiana.

Jen Bice took the mound for the Cyclones and struck out seven in a 4-2 win. Bice was aided by Michelle Junod’s strong hitting performance. She went 5-9 (.555) for the tournament.

In the second game, the Cyclones faced Illinois State. Erica Martinez pitched the 1-0 win and struck out four. Bice came in the game in relief to earn the save for ISU. Cinnamon Gooding added some offensive power hitting 5-11(.454) with two doubles for the weekend.

The two wins allowed ISU to earn first place in its pool and be placed in the gold division for the final day of competition.

The Cyclones were matched against Texas Tech in the first game of Saturday play. This proved to be the closest game of the tournament and eventually came down to the last at bat for the Cyclones.

“It [the Texas Tech game] was very close,” said head coach Ruth Crowe. “We made two costly errors that contributed to the loss. A defensive throwing error and a base running mistake really hurt us.”

ISU had the bases loaded with one out in the seventh and final inning when an untimely base running error greatly decreased the Cyclones’ chance for a win. Texas Tech went on to the 3-2 victory.

“I was really happy with the way Kristen Ferguson pitched in the game,” Crowe said. “I took her out in the fifth inning just to try to get a swing in momentum, but she really was pitching well.”

“Really, a lot of things contributed to the loss. We left a lot of people on base, and we had our opportunities. We just didn’t use them,” she said.

In the last game, ISU took on Evansville. Martinez started the game at pitcher for the Cyclones and struck out five in the 0-3 loss.

“Mentally, we just weren’t able to bounce back,” Crowe said. “We had to come back after the tough loss to Texas Tech and play a game 10 minutes later. We needed to play better in order to get the win, and we didn’t.”

The Cyclones’ next game will be Saturday, Oct. 2, when they travel to Iowa City for a double-header vs. University of Iowa. Game time is set to begin at 3:30 p.m.

“Any time you have Iowa State playing Iowa, it’s always a great rivalry,” said Coach Crowe. “I think the in-state recruits really know the importance and significance of the match-up, while the girls from out-of-state haven’t quite realized it yet. It will definitely be a big double-header for us.”