Iowa State Powers Its Way to 3-0 at Indoor Invite

AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State softball team powered its way to a pair of victories Saturday at the Cyclone Indoor Inviational at the Bergstrom Indoor Football Facility. The Cyclones started the day with a dramatic 10-7 win over Utah State, and capped it with a 6-0 shutout of South Dakota State. ISU is now 3-0 on the season, Utah State is 0-3 and South Dakota State is 1-1.

Game One: Iowa State 10 Utah State 7
The first two innings made it seem like a game made for a dominating Cyclone performance. ISU got things rolling in the first, getting a pair of runners on via fielder's choices. That brought Rachel Hartman to the plate, and the Cyclone catcher smacked the first ISU home run of the season to make it 3-0. USU pulled one back in the top half of the second, but ISU got back to business as Maddie Reese launched a 2-run home run, her first homer since 2013, to make it 5-1 with Lexi Slater adding a sixth via an RBI-double later in the inning.

The Aggies slowly cut into the Iowa State lead on the back of starting pitcher Alleyah Armendariz. She started to make her impact with a 2-run homer in the top of the third to reduce the ISU lead to 6-3. She would combine that with stellar pitching, not allowing an ISU runner past second base for the next three innings. Then in the top of the fifth, with USU down 6-4, she made it 6-5 with her second home run of the game. Utah State then tied it in the sixth when Hailey Forton fired a shot down the left field line to bring home Sarah Chow.

The Iowa State offense re-ignited in the bottom of the sixth, as Nycholle Antillon posted a base hit, Reese drew a walk and Gabby Voulgaris marked her first collegiate at-bat with a single to load the bases. Two batters later Kelsey McFarland, promoted from eighth to second in the lineup, came to the plate and emptied the bases with a towering home run to left-center to make it 10-6 ISU. The Aggies tried to rally in the seventh, but Katie Johnson, who was pitching out of the bullpen, shut things down to give ISU the win.

Game Two: Iowa State 6 South Dakota State 0
Again, the ISU offense set up shop right away in the bottom of the first inning as Brittany Gomez led the game off with a single and a stolen base. Three batters later, Hartman brought her home with a single that bisected the right side of the infield to make it 1-0 Cyclones.

From there both pitchers, Johnson for Iowa State and Ashlyn Bender settled in a groove that saw the scoreboard unmoved again until the bottom of the fourth. ISU had runners on second and third with two outs and Bender looked to be out of a jam as Jorden Spendlove chopped one to second. However, Alyssa D'Agostino dropped the ball and her throw to first was late. Meanwhile, pinch-runner Hayley Womack and Reese came across to give ISU a pair of runs on the error to make it 3-0 Cyclones.

Reese clinched things for Iowa State in the bottom of the fifth. After a Slater walk and a Hartman ground-rule double, SDSU brought in Jennifer Sutton to pitch for Bender. The first batter she faced was Reese, who greeted her with a 3-run home run to left field to make it 6-0 Cyclones. From there, Johnson shut-things down in the circle as she finished her complete game shutout, her second of the season and sixth of her career, by allowing just four hits and two walks with four strikeouts.

Cyclone of the Day
Maddie Reese. The senior from Pittsford, N.Y. has had a bit of a nomadic career as a Cyclone, playing a variety of positions and taking various roles across the batting lineup. While she has settled into a spot at second base for this year, her journey in the batting order has taken her from second yesterday, eighth in today's first game and then fifth against South Dakota State. She delivered today, combining to go 3-for-5 on the day with two home runs and five RBIs. Reese only had six RBIs all of last season in 35 games and her two home runs were her first since her sophomore season in 2013.

On Deck
Iowa State closes out the Cyclone Indoor Invitational tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. against South Dakota State. That will be the second of two games tomorrow, as SDSU and Utah State start the day with a game at 9 a.m.

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Players Mentioned

Brittany Gomez

Brittany Gomez

Rachel Hartman

Rachel Hartman

Katie Johnson

Katie Johnson

Kelsey McFarland

Maddie Reese

Maddie Reese

Lexi Slater

Lexi Slater

Jorden Spendlove

Jorden Spendlove

Gabby Voulgaris

Hayley Womack

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics