After competing in the Paradise Classic last weekend, Iowa State headed into the Knight’s Classic in Orlando, Florida, with a 4-1 record.

The winning record didn’t last long for the Cyclones after arriving in Orlando, after losing all but one of their games over the weekend.

Battling on the mound

The Cyclones headed down to Orlando facing Villanova and Central Florida the first day, handing the responsibility to some young pitchers on the mound.

Losing many seniors in the offseason, freshmen pitchers Janessa Jasso, Ellie Spelhaug and Karlie Charles performed well while battling powerful hitters in Orlando. 

In the first game against the Villanova Wildcats, Jasso started her outing rocky. A wild pitch from Jasso and effective base running by the Wildcats, Villanova gave them a 1-0 to start. 

Jasso rebounded after the wild pitch, with four strikeouts in 4.1 innings against the Wildcats. There was trouble for the defense when Angela Giampolo of Villanova hit a home run, but Ellie Spelhaug came in for relief and kept the Wildcats out of home plate.  

With good work by the freshmen pitchers, Ellie Spelhaug was able to seal the deal. In the bottom of the 7th, the Wildcats scored and had two baserunners on second and third base with one out. Ellie Spelhaug held hitters, earning two strikeouts to close the game.

Ellie Spelhaug gave one of her best performances thus far in relief, while Jasso advanced to 2-0 for the season. 

Spelhaug sisters fight for the Cyclones

The Cyclones missed out on securing themselves against Penn State, and Carli Spelhaug had the first triple of the season for the Cyclones. 

The Cyclones struggled to get on base, and Bailey Parshall had 13 total strikeouts against Cyclone hitters. In the 4th inning, Penn State took the lead after a home run from Kennedy Legg. 

Carli Spelhaug — for her first collegiate homer — hit a bomb over the left-field wall, allowing the Cyclones to get on the board, but that’s all she wrote. 

Ellie Spelhaug held on for her team, in spite of the loss; she gave up only four hits in six innings with four strikeouts. 

UCF wins again

Facing the Knight’s again, the Cyclones were not able to redeem themselves. 

Carli Spelhaug had an opportunity to score as she battled hard after stealing second and advancing to third, but her teammates were unable to send her home. 

In her first career start ever, Morgan Wright made her mark. She nailed a double towards right field, capturing momentum for the Cyclones. Lea Nelson pinch ran for Wright, and after an overthrow, Nelson scored to cut the deficit to 5-1. 

The Knight’s hitting was solid throughout the series; after a base hit and a home run, they took a bigger lead. The large lead led to the game being called early due to an eight-run rule.

Extra inning heartbreak

In the last game versus Florida Atlantic, the Cyclones started off strong. 

With good base running from Ramos, Carli Spelhaug hit a ground ball towards third. The Owls attempted to throw out Ramos at second, but Ramos was able to sneak to third base after a bad throw. 

To put the Cyclones on the board, Williams pushed Ramos home after a ground ball, allowing the Cyclones to take the lead 1-0.

The Cyclones were aggressive. After going through the lineup, Ramos walked to first, and Carli Spelhaug had a single through the right side. Ramos advanced to third on the play.

The Cyclones advanced their lead to 2-0 after a double steal in which Ramos came home. The Owls tied the game with a two-run home run in the sixth inning.

Going into extra innings, Charles and the Cyclones’ defense let up four runs. The Cyclones tried to come back with Carli Spelhaug scoring when Hanrahan grounded a ball towards second. 

The Cyclones ended the Knight’s Classic 1-4, giving them an overall record of 5-5 for the third week of the season.