Cyclones To Face Texas Tech In Home Opener

AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State Softball team (15-16) is set to open Big 12 play this weekend with a home series vs. Texas Tech (13-14). The three-game series will mark the Cyclones' first chance of the 2017 campaign to play at the Cyclone Sports Complex after starting the year with 31 straight contests on the road.

The series will also mark the first chance for fans to cheer on the Cyclones at home in Jamie Trachsel's debut season as Iowa State's head coach. Friday's game is currently scheduled for a 3 p.m. first pitch, while Saturday and Sunday's games will begin at noon. Admission is free to all home softball games at the Cyclone Sports Complex this season.

vs. Texas Tech
Where: Ames, Iowa – Cyclone Sports Complex
When: Friday, March 24 – Sunday, March 26
Live Stats: Live stats will be available for all games, and links can be found on the schedule page here.
Watch: All three games will be broadcast live on Cyclones.tv and can be streamed with a subscription here.
Live Updates: Follow @CycloneSB on Twitter for live in-game updates from the field.

Cyclone Headlines
-The Iowa State softball team (15-16) will open Big 12 play this weekend, playing host to Texas Tech (13-14) in the Cyclones' home opener. The Cyclones and Red Raiders are set for a three-game series, with games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Cyclone Sports Complex.

-The Cyclones enter conference play on a high-note, after going 4-1 last weekend at FGCU's Battle at the Beach. Iowa State avenged its only loss at the tournament in the weekend finale with a 5-2 victory over FGCU. Overall, Iowa State went 7-5 on their 11-day spring break trip.

-Pitcher Brianna Weilbacher is putting together one of the finest stretches of her career right now. The junior went 4-0 last week, picking up wins over UCF, IUPUI, Canisius and FGCU. Weilbacher had a 1.00 ERA at the FGCU tournament, while holding opponents to a .182 batting average.

-The Cyclones are on pace to shatter the single-season school record for stolen bases. Despite returning just 12 steals from a season ago, the 2017 Cyclones already rank T-2nd on the single-season list with 70, led by 17 for Cathlin Bingham. The current single-season team record is 89 (2013).

-Freshman Sami Williams had another huge weekend at the Battle at the Beach, sparking the Cyclones to their 4-1 outing. Williams went 9-of-17 (.529) with 3 doubles, 5 RBIs and 3 runs at the tournament. Williams leads all Big 12 freshmen with 33 hits on the season.

-Weilbacher was also lights-out in Iowa State's 2-0 victory over Seton Hall at the Aggie Invitational. 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. 25 nationally in strikeouts per seven innings with 9.4. 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. 2 in the Big 12 with a .443 batting average. McFarland leads the team with 43 hits and has stolen 10 bases in 31 games, after stealing one all of last season.

-ISU swept the Big 12 weekly softball awards on Feb. 21 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.

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Players Mentioned

Cathlin Bingham

Emma Hylen

Kaila Konz

Kelsey McFarland

Brianna Weilbacher

Sami Williams

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Iowa State University Athletics