Cyclones Defeat Florida A&M; Fall to College of Charleston in Georgia Tech Buzz Classic

MARIETTA, Ga. ? The Iowa State softball team rallied for seven runs in the sixth inning and came back from a 5-0 deficit to defeat Florida A&M, 7-5, late Friday night in the team's second game of the Georgia Tech Buzz Classic. ISU's record now stands at 7-14 after the Cyclones dropped a 6-4 heartbreaker to College of Charleston on Saturday.

Against Florida A&M, the Lady Rattlers scored one run in the third inning and four more in the fifth inning to take a 5-0 lead on the Cyclones going into the sixth inning. But ISU got its bats going in the sixth inning and stormed back with seven unanswered runs to win the game, 7-5. Florida A&M threatened to rally back in the bottom of the sixth but were unable to plate any runs. The Cyclones had five hits and two errors compared to Florida A&M's six hits and two errors. It was the third win in a row for the Cyclones who defeated Mercer, 4-2, on Friday afternoon and Georgia State on Wednesday night.

Against College of Charleston, Iowa State powered into the lead with a three-run home run by freshman Ashley Killeen in the first inning, but the Charleston Cougars came back with a game-winning three-run home run by Leshe Russell to defeat ISU, 6-4. Freshman Alyssa Ransom was on the mound for the Cyclones and took the loss. She pitched six innings and struck out four Cougar batters, while allowing only seven hits. ISU had six hits and zero errors compared to Charleston's seven hits and three errors.

Iowa State currently has a 2-1 record in the Georgia Tech Buzz Classic going into a Saturday evening contest with Big Ten foe, Minnesota. The Cyclones played the Golden Gophers once last year and lost, 1-0, in the last game of the Texas A&M Corpus Christi Tournament. ISU will end the Buzz Classic tournament on Sunday, March 21, with a game against a yet undetermined opponent.