The Iowa State softball team traveled to Charlottesville, Virginia, to compete in the Rawlings Classic. The Cyclones did not come out on top as they finished with a record of 1-4.
The tournament started Friday and the Cyclones played two games, the first against Delaware where the Cyclones started off slow.
As the game went 0-0 for the first few innings, Alesia Ranches, hit her third homer of the season to put Iowa State on the scoreboard. The Cyclones fought back after being down multiple runs however it was not enough as they lost 8-5.
The second game Friday was against Lehigh where the Cyclones took their only win of the weekend. Again, the game started off slow for Iowa State as it was not until the fifth inning that runs were brought in.
The fifth inning was explosive for the Cyclones. Tiana Poole hit an RBI double and a pair of RBI singles to score runs. Lehigh fought back during the sixth to score three runs; however, Lehigh fell by one to lose the game. The final score was 5-4 for Iowa State to take the win.
On Saturday, the Cyclones played one game due to a weather delay in the afternoon in Virginia. The Cyclones played their second game against Delaware and took another loss, finishing with a score of 7-6.
The Cyclones used their strength on offense in the batter’s box to keep the game close. Angelina Allen was a huge benefit to the Iowa State offense, going 3-for-3 against Delaware. Milaysia Ochoa also smacked three hits to help the Cyclones on offense.
Sunday, the Cyclones played against Virginia after the game was postponed Saturday.
The defense for the Cyclones from senior pitcher Karlie Charles helped Iowa State stay in the game. Charles finished the game with seven strikeouts, no walks and four hits. Before the final inning, the score sat at 0-0 until Virginia drew in one run in the ninth to finish off the game and take the win.
To finish off the tournament in Virginia, the Cyclones played Lehigh once again Sunday and took their last loss 4-2.
It was a special night for senior Carli Spelhaug, as she played in her 200th game as a Cyclone.
After going back and forth the whole game with runs, Ashley Minor hit a single to center field to bring a run in for the Cyclones in the fifth to bring them within two runs. Lehigh shut down the Cyclones the rest of the way to hand the Cyclones their fourth loss of the tournament.
Iowa State will now travel to Fort Collins, Colorado, to compete in the Colorado Classic from March 1-3.
