Iowa State Falls to No. 1 California and No. 16 Florida at UNLV Invitational

LAS VEGAS, Nev. ? The Iowa State softball team dropped games to both No. 1 California and No. 16 Florida Saturday at UNLV's Eller Media Stadium. It was the third day of the UNLV Invitational, which was hosted by UNLV. In the first game of the day, Iowa State lost to California, 5-0, and fell to Florida, 4-2, in Saturday's afternoon game. With the losses, ISU's record falls to 0-3.

Against No. 1 California, the Cyclones fell behind early when the Golden Bears took a 3-0 lead after two innings. After a scoreless third inning, California added another run late in the fourth inning to make the score 4-0 after four. In the sixth inning, the Cyclones tried to mount a rally when senior Misty Kimura doubled to left center. Sophomore Jessica Quade then got on base on an error by Cal's third baseman Vicky Galindo. Kimura advanced to third on the error, but she was thrown out at the plate to end the inning. The Golden Bears added another run in the top of the seventh for their final run of the contest.

Kimura and junior Cary Akins led the Cyclones offensively. Kimura had two hits in the contest, including her first double of the season and the eighth of her career. Junior Kristen Karanzias was on the mound for ISU and worked her first complete game of the year.

Against No. 16 Florida, the Gators jumped on the scoreboard with two runs in the first inning when center fielder Shelly Stevens and first baseman Melissa Zick. The score remained 2-0 through three innings.

Iowa State got on the board in the top of the fourth inning when freshman Kristy Olsen hit a home run to left center. It was her first collegiate home run. Sophomore Ashley Killeen hit her first home run of the year on the very next play to tie the game 2-2. The score would remain tied through the top of the sixth inning. But Florida made the most of the sixth inning and scored two insurance runs to win the game, 4-2.

The Cyclones had four hits in the game. Sophomore Jennifer Bigbee and Killeen each had one and Olsen had two hits. Olsen also had a single in the first inning.

Iowa State heads to the east coast next weekend to take part in the College of Charleston Cougar Classic on Feb. 25-27. The Cyclones will take on Virginia Tech at 10 a.m. (CST) and Pittsburgh at 2 p.m. (CST) on Friday and will play Winthrop at 2 p.m. (CST) and host College of Charleston at 4 p.m. (CST) on Saturday.