Cyclones Win Two On Friday At Aggie Invitational

DAVIS, Calif. – The Iowa State softball team (9-4 overall) won a pair of games on Friday at the Aggie Invitational in Davis, Calif. The Cyclones started the day with a 6-3 victory over South Dakota, followed by a 4-2 win over Idaho State.

Game One: Iowa State 6, South Dakota 3
The Iowa State offense had it going early on in the first game of the day. Brittany Gomez singled to lead off, followed by a walk for Cathlin Bingham and a beautiful bunt down the third base line from Aly Cappaert to load the bases. Rachel Hartman then came to the plate with no outs and smacked a two-RBI double to left field. Later in the inning, Nychole Antillon singled to center to score Cappaert, as the Cyclones took a 3-0 lead after one.

The second inning was more of the same for the Cyclones, as they put three more on the board. Cappaert had her second of three hits in the game on an RBI single to score Sally Woolpert and move Gomez over to third. Hartman brought Gomez home with a sac-fly, before Cappaert scored on a South Dakota error, as ISU took a commanding 6-0 lead.

The Coyotes started to chip away, putting a run on the board in the top of the fourth inning. Yvon Minogue singled to move teammate Morgan Vasa to third, before Vasa came in to score on an error. South Dakota cut further into the lead the following inning. Taylor Steinfeldt got things going for USD with an RBI triple to center field. Taylor scored later in the inning, as the ISU lead shrunk to 6-3.

Freshman Emma Hylen was able to shut the Coyote attack down from that point forward, however. Hylen pitched all seven innings, giving up three runs on eight hits, to go with six strikeouts, registering the third win of her career.

Game Two: Iowa State 4, Idaho State 2
The Cyclones struck first once again in game two of the day. Gomez started things with a single up the middle. After Bingham walked, Cappaert moved the runners over on a ground out to second base. Hartman then collected an RBI on a fielder's choice, as Gomez came sliding in to score, just beating the Idaho State throw at home.

Bingham singled in the top of the third, and was eventually moved around to third. The junior then scored as Hartman reached on a fielding error with two outs. After back-to-back walks to load the bases, Woolpert singled to right, bringing two more Cyclone runs to the plate. Iowa State led 4-0 midway through the third inning.

Idaho State got on the board on an RBI double by Michaela Taylor. ISU pitcher Brianna Weilbacher would exit the game after 2.2 innings of work, giving up one run on just one hit while striking out three Bengal batters. Junior Mandi Moore entered for Weilbacher and got out of a bases loaded jam to hold Idaho State at bay, and preserve the 4-1 Cyclone lead.

The Bengals threatened again in the bottom of the 7^th, as Kacie Burnett singled to load the bases and score Kacie Burnett from third. Hylen entered in relief for the final two outs and got out of the jam to clinch the 4-2 Cyclone victory.

On Deck
Iowa State will face New Mexico on Saturday to close out the Aggie Invitational. The Cyclones and Lobos will play at 10:45 a.m. CT at La Rue Softball Field.

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Players Mentioned

Nychole Antillon

Cathlin Bingham

Aly Cappaert

Brittany Gomez

Rachel Hartman

Emma Hylen

Mandi Moore

Brianna Weilbacher

Sally Woolpert

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Iowa State University Athletics