Lopes Up Classic On Deck For Cyclone Softball

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CYCLONE NOTEBOOK
1. The Iowa State softball team will travel to Phoenix, Ariz. this weekend to compete in the Lopes Up Classic, hosted by Grand Canyon University. The Cyclones will face Northern Colorado (2x), Utah, Grand Canyon and South Dakota at the tournament.

2. The Cyclones are coming off a 3-1 showing at the Holy City Showdown in Charleston, S.C. Pitching and defense were critical, with the ISU pitching staff compiling a 0.78 ERA and holding opposing hitters to a staggering .114 batting average at the tournament. Savannah Sanders, Emma Hylen, Shannon Mortimer and Tatum Ksiazek each received one start on the weekend, with all four putting in complete games.

3. Sanders put on one of the best performances of her career vs. Marshall in the first game in Charleston, S.C. The senior pitched a one-hit gem with seven strikeouts to lead the Cyclones past the Thundering Herd, 1-0. Sanders' seven K's were her most in a game since March 26, 2017 (9 vs. Texas Tech).

4. Sophomore Tatum Ksiazek was nearly flawless in the tournament finale vs. Dartmouth. Ksiazek, in her first start as a Cyclone, went all 5.0 innings while giving up one hit and no walks in ISU's 12-0 run-rule victory. Ksiazek, who was two outs away from a no-hitter, has allowed just one hit and no runs with eight strikeouts in 10.2 innings this season.

5. Iowa State's improved defense in 2019 has been critical in the Cyclones' recent hot streak, winning five of their last six. Under the tutelage of head coach Jamie Pinkerton and assistant Courtney Martinez, the Cyclones tout a .979 fielding percentage this season, up from .956 in 2018. The Cyclones fielded at a .983 rate at the Holy City Showdown.

6. Senior Sally Woolpert was a catalyst for the Cyclones when they were struggling to score runs in Charleston. Woolpert hit .385 with four RBI's and had her first home run of the season on the weekend. She also notched the first stolen base of her career vs. Dartmouth.

7. A 2-1 showing at Stanford's Demarini Invitational left the Cyclones with a lot to build on, picking up wins over Colorado State and Portland State to close out the weekend, despite being rained out on the first day of the tournament.

8. Senior Taylor Nearad had perhaps her best weekend as a Cyclone at the Demarini Invitational. The native of Solon, Iowa hit .444 over the weekend and was a catalyst to Iowa State's improved offensive output. Nearad had a double, a triple and a home run, with two RBIs and three runs scored. She's also been excellent defensively in center field.

9. Iowa State star infielder Sami Williams is coming off a Second Team All-Big 12 selection in which she hit .388 (No. 6 single-season batting average in school history), to go with 12 home runs and 14 doubles. Williams was named to the 2018 Google Cloud Academic All-America Division I Softball Team, selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Williams maintained a 4.0 GPA in software engineering.

10. Williams continues to climb the ISU career record charts during her junior campaign. The native of Laguna Niguel, Calif., is already No. 2 on Iowa State's all-time list in batting average (.362), T-No. 2 in doubles (38) and No. 7 in home runs (21). She needs four more doubles to break the program record held by Lexi Slater (41 - 2012-15).

11. Iowa State is looking to build off a 23-33 overall record in 2018 in what was the first year of the Jamie Pinkerton era. The Cyclones finished sixth in the Big 12 to advance to the conference postseason tournament for the second-consecutive season. The Cyclones finished No. 75 in the final RPI rankings, and played the No. 27-toughest schedule.

12. Iowa State hit a single-season school record 45 home runs in 2018, breaking the previous program mark of 40 set during Pinkerton's first stint at Iowa State as an assistant coach in 2013. Williams led the way with 12 homers on the year, as ISU returns 36 of its 45 dingers from a season ago.

13. The Cyclones aren't strangers to playing in hostile environments, as just seven of ISU's last 68 contests have been played at home, dating back to 2018. ISU was the only Power 5 program in the nation that played fewer than 12 home games in 2018, and tied for No. 7 nationally in NCAA DI for fewest total home games played.

COMPLETE GAME NOTES
For complete game notes, click here (PDF).

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Players Mentioned

Emma Hylen

Tatum Ksiazek

Shannon Mortimer

Taylor Nearad

Savannah Sanders

Lexi Slater

Sami Williams

Sally Woolpert

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