The Iowa State Cyclones fell to No. 2 Florida once more, and leave the Aquafina Invitational going 2-3 overall, winning against Georgia Southern and Illinois State.

The Cyclones were able to improve in their second game against Florida, initially going hitless in their first encounter on Saturday, losing 8-0. They improved on hits in their second game with six, but didn’t managed to get any runs in.

Emma Hylen pitched a complete game and held the explosive Gators to only three runs on five this, while adding two strikeouts.

Here are four takeaways from the tournament

SINGLE

The Cyclones were left on base multiple times in games.

Overall, at the Aquafina Invitational the Cyclones were left on base a total of 36 times, averaging 7.2 left on base per game. Each game the Cyclones lost, they were decided by three or more runs. If some of those players left on base could have scored, then maybe more wins would have came.

In the loss against Maryland, centerfielder Taylor Nearad was left on base a total of seven times. This being in a game that saw 12 Cyclones left on a base, unable to capitalize and score a run.

Today’s outing saw the Cyclones left on base a total of six times, unable to score.

DOUBLE

Improvement on the defensive side of the ball was improved upon by the Cyclones in their second game against the Gators.

The Cyclones started off the competition with a narrow 1-0 walk off victory against Georgia Southern. The defense stepped up and delivered on the call, allowing no runs. The Eagles only big play was a double, that resulted in no runs.

Keeping games close has been part of Iowa State’s game plan under new head coach Jamie Pinkerton. Saturday’s second game against Illinois State saw that as the Cyclones escaped with a 5-4 victory.

Iowa State’s defense kept the Redbirds out of potential scoring possibilities until the fourth inning, letting an error be the cause of an unearned run.

Iowa State would later see their four-run lead turn into a single-run lead, with the Redbirds coming on late to narrow the gap in the game. If it wasn’t for the final play of the game that saw Savannah Sanders come in to save the game, the Cyclones might have lost.

TRIPLE

The pitching for the Cyclones was headlined by Brianna Weilbacher, Sanders and Hylen.

Combined, they had 21 strikeouts in five games.

Sanders recorded her first save of the season, coming in for Weilbacher in the last inning of the game against Illinois State. She went for no hits on nine pitches and gave the Cyclones their victory.

Weilbacher showed her best outing of pitching against Georgia Southern, pitching all eight innings. She allowed four hits after facing 30 batters, striking out five of them in the span of those eight innings.

She was a huge contribution this weekend, also placing the Cyclones in winning position for Sanders to save the game. Her weekend saw her improving to 4-2 in the season.

Hylen improved her performance throughout the competition.

She originally went for 1.2 innings against Maryland in a 9-5 defeat. In her time, she allowed three hits and four earned runs. 

Today, she kept the Gators to a close game, allowing five hits and three earned runs in all of her six innings. She struck out two batters out of the 26 she faced.

HOME RUN

While the Cyclones’ record in the Aquafina Invitational fell to a losing record, Iowa State softball has gotten out to a good start in its first 15 games.

Last year, the Cyclones were 7-8. Most of those losses came in differences of three or more runs.

This year, under Pinkerton, Iowa State has only suffered three blowout losses.

In the games in which the Cyclones have lost this season, most have come down to three or less runs.

Winning close games is still an impactful note to check on, but the Cyclones so far have an 8-7 record with an 8-3 record when facing opponents in neutral sites.

The Cyclones will return to the diamond on March 2, at 12 p.m., against Virginia Tech in the Courtyard Marriott Osprey Classic.