Softball Goes 2-0 Friday At Spring Break Classic

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Iowa State (14-16) swept a pair of games at FGCU's Battle at the Beach on Friday. The Cyclones opened the day by rallying past Canisius (10-12), 4-3, before defeating Drexel (3-5) by run-rule, 9-1.

Iowa State 4, Canisius 3
Canisius came out of the gates fast, putting two runs on the board in the blink of an eye. The Griffins drew a one-out walk and quickly capitalized on the opportunity with a two-run home run down the left field line courtesy of Lauren Castro.

The Cyclones were held in check by Canisius starting pitcher Erika Mackie and the Canisius defense through the first 3.5 innings, until Iowa State exploded for four runs in the home half of the fourth. It was all about manufacturing offense for ISU in the inning, as well as putting pressure on the Canisius infield.

With two runners on, Megan Schweitzer put down a tremendous bunt for a single and advanced all the way to third on a Griffin throwing error, allowing Niki Turner and Kaila Konz to score, tying the game at 2-2. Logan Schaben and Cathlin Bingham followed suit with base hits, bringing one run to the plate each. Iowa State's speed on the bases caused three Canisius errors total in the inning, which ended with the Cyclones leading 4-2.

The Griffins mounted a threat in the top of the seventh, scoring a run on an RBI single by Samantha Sharkey. However, the Cyclone defense made a heads-up defensive play for a 7-5-4 putout on the play to slam the door shut on the Canisius rally.

Winning pitcher Brianna Weilbacher went all 7.0 innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on four hits while striking out nine batters.

Iowa State 9, Drexel 1
Iowa State once again used a four-run inning midway through its second game of the day to break open their 9-1 victory over Drexel. The Cyclones notched four runs in the top of the fifth frame, highlight by a two-RBI double by Sami Williams. The freshman was outstanding throughout the game, going 3-for-4 at the plate with three RBIs, two doubles and two runs scored.

The Dragons got on the board first in the bottom half of the opening inning, going ahead 1-0 on an RBI single through the left side. However, it would be all Cyclones from that point forward. Kaila Konz knotted the game for ISU in the ensuing inning, picking up a base hit, before stealing second. The junior would later come in to score on a Drexel error.

After two scoreless innings, the Cyclones broke the tie in the top of the fifth. Logan Schaben gave Iowa State the lead after sliding home and being called safe on a play at the plate. Following Williams' two-RBI double to score Megan Schweitzer and Bingham, ISU tacked one more on the board on a Kelsey McFarland RBI single to take a 5-1 lead before the inning was over.

The Cyclones picked up right where they left off in the top of the sixth, as Iowa State capitalized on a pair of Drexel errors and picked up two additional RBI doubles from McFarland and Williams to total four runs in the frame and go ahead 9-1.

Sophomore Savannah Sanders picked up her fourth win of the season, and was tremendous in the outing. Sanders gave up just one run on one hit with four strikeouts.

On Deck
The Cyclones will close out FGCU's Battle at the Beach on Saturday with a match-up against FGCU at 4 p.m. CT.

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Team Stats

Kaila Konz

Megan Schweitzer

Cathlin Bingham

Kelsey McFarland

Players Mentioned

Cathlin Bingham

Kaila Konz

Kelsey McFarland

Savannah Sanders

Logan Schaben

Megan Schweitzer

Niki Turner

Brianna Weilbacher

Sami Williams

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics