Softball Preps For UCF And FGCU Tournament

AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State Softball team (10-14) continues its 10-day spring break trip, heading east to Florida this week, with a double header at UCF on Tuesday, followed by a trip to Fort Myers, Florida to compete in FGCU's Battle at the Beach.

The Cyclones' doubleheader Tuesday vs. UCF is slated for a 3 p.m. CT first pitch, and will be followed up with games against IUPUI, Drexel and Canisius, as well as a pair of contests vs. FGCU over the weekend. The Battle at the Beach starts Thursday and runs through Saturday, with all games played at FGCU Softball Stadium.

ISU is coming off a 2-3 weekend at UC Davis' Aggie Invitational, where the Cyclones scored a pair of victories over Seton Hall.

At UCF
Where: Orlando, Florida – UCF Softball Complex
When: Tuesday, March 14
Live Stats: Live stats will be available, and the link can be found on the schedule page here.
Live Stream: A live stream will be available, and link can be found on the schedule page here.
Live Updates: Follow @CycloneSB on Twitter for live in-game updates from the field.

Battle At The Beach
Where: Fort Myers, Florida – FGCU Softball Stadium
When: Thursday, March 16 – Saturday, March 18
Live Stats: Live stats will be available, and provided by FGCU.
Live Updates: Follow @CycloneSB on Twitter for live in-game updates from the field.

Cyclone Headlines
-The Iowa State softball team (10-14) is set to play seven games in the state of Florida this week. The Cyclones will open on Tuesday with a double-header at UCF, followed by a weekend at The Battle At The Beach, hosted by Florida Gulf Coast. The tournament will run Thursday-Saturday.

-The Cyclones will be looking to build on a 2-3 weekend at UC Davis' Aggie Invitational. Iowa State swept a pair of games against Seton Hall, and dropped decisions to San Jose State, UMass and UC Davis.

-Brianna Weilbacher was lights-out in Iowa State's 2-0 victory over Seton Hall on Friday. The junior broke a single-game school record, striking out 14 Pirate batters in the outing. Weilbacher went 7.0 innings, giving up no runs on just one hit in dominant performance.

-Weilbacher ranks No. 1 in the Big 12 and No. 16 nationally in strikeouts per seven innings with 10.1. The junior has eight more strikeouts than any other pitcher in the conference after seeing just 8.1 innings of work all of last season.

-Iowa State's 6-5 win over Seton Hall on Saturday was a thriller, with the Cyclones providing late game heroics to win in comebach fashion. Entering the top of the 7th inning, ISU trailed 4-2. Sami Williams and Kaila Konz each came up with 2-RBI base hits, as Iowa State stormed back for their second win of the weekend

-Kelsey McFarland's junior campaign is off to a strong start. The New Prague, Minn. native ranks No. 52 nationally and No. 1 in the Big 12 with a .458 batting average. McFarland leads the team with 33 hits and has stolen nine bases in 24 games, after stealing one all of last season.

-Rachel Hartman was one of the highlights of ISU's weekend at the Samford/UAB Tournament. The senior notched her second home run of the season, as well as a double, on three hits in nine at-bats. Hartman's quality plate appearances were key for the Cyclones, as the native of Las Flores, Calif., drew three walks and had an on-base percentage of .538 for the weekend.

-ISU swept the Big 12 weekly softball awards following their first undefeated weekend since 2015. Sophomore Emma Hylen was named Big 12 Pitcher of the Week, while freshman Sami Williams was named Big 12 Player of the Week.

-Hylen went 1-0 with two saves on the weekend, including a career-high 11 strikeouts in Iowa State's 5-1 win over Alabama A&M. The sophomore gave up just 5 hits and no earned runs in 11.1 innings of work over the weekend.

-Williams went 6-of-14 at the plate at the Tiger Classic with three home runs and two doubles. The freshman, who has started every game this season at second base, also racked up a team-high nine RBIs at the tournament.

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Players Mentioned

Rachel Hartman

Emma Hylen

Kaila Konz

Kelsey McFarland

Brianna Weilbacher

Sami Williams

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics