The Iowa State Softball team started its regular season Friday by playing Omaha and Drake in the Doc Halverson UNI Dome Classic, and it did not fare well for the Cyclones as they start the season 0-2. 

Pitchers struggle to keep the team in the games

The Cyclones first faced off against Omaha and it seemed like spirits were high going into the game. That same confidence did not translate into the game as the Cyclones pitching ended up giving up five runs to the Mavericks on only four hits. 

The pitching staff had a chance to bounce back in their second game against Drake but still couldn’t hold it down for the team. The Bulldogs were able to score five runs on 12 hits on the Cyclones. This was not the best start to see for a team with such high aspirations.

Offense struggles to get anything going

The Cyclones seemed to not find any offense as they were only able to score two runs in two games. The first run came from a sacrifice fly, hit by Senior Catcher Mikayla Ramos that ended up scoring Senior left fielder Carli Spelhaug from third base against Omaha. 

The second run came in the dying moments of the Drake game as Junior center fielder Milaysia Ochoa was able to hit a single for Senior second baseman Lea Nelson to score from third base.

Iowa State was only able to generate eight hits in two games but were able to draw nine total walks which is something positive to take away. Otherwise, it wasn’t the best of days for offensive numbers.

Day one done, two more days left to bounce back

The Cyclones did not put up a good showing today but they have two more days to clean things up. They now shift their focus on facing Drake once again on Saturday at 3 p.m., then will face Northern Iowa later on that day at 5:30 p.m. Then their final game of this tournament will occur against UNI on Sunday at 11:30 a.m.