Iowa State Poised For Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic

AMES, Iowa - Iowa State travels to Cathedral City, Calif. for the prestigious Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic this weekend. The Cyclones will see a pair of top 10 teams in No. 5 Washington and No. 6 UCLA at the tournament as well as CSUN, San Diego and Loyola Marymount. Iowa State begins action at the Mary Nutter Friday against UCLA at 7:30 p.m. (CT).

The Matchup: Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic
Where: Cathedral City, Calif. - Big League Dreams Complex
When: Friday, Feb. 25 - Sun. Feb 27
Watch: FloSoftball
Live Stats: Cyclones.com (Available for select games)

Tournament Schedule (All Times Central)
vs. No. 6 UCLA - 2/25, 7:30 p.m.
vs. CSUN - 2/25, 10 p.m.
vs. San Diego - 2/26, 2 p.m.
vs. Loyola Marymount - 2/26, 9:30 p.m.
vs. No. 5 Washington - 2/27, 11 a.m.

Key Storylines

Iowa State is coming off a 4-0 trip to Washington D.C. with wins over Quinnipiac, Howard and Coppin State. The Cyclones were originally scheduled to play at the Troy Cox Invitational in New Mexico last weekend before travel complications forced them to withdraw and re-route to the nation's capital.
ISU already owns a pair of wins over two teams that made a regional in 2021 (SDSU, UNI). The Cyclones will have two more opportunities against UCLA and Washington, which were both top 16 national seeds last year.
Iowa State is averaging 8.89 runs/game, the sixth-best clip in the nation. The Cyclones have hung their hat on the long ball, averaging 1.56 home runs per contest, the 12th-most nationally.
Mikayla Ramos' six home runs are tied for the second-most in the country. The catcher has homered in four consecutive games, including a two-home run outing Monday against Coppin State.
Ramos has logged 18 RBIs through nine games this season, tied for the most by any player in the country. Last season, Ramos batted in 57 runs to break Iowa State's single-season RBI record. By comparison, Ramos had eight RBIs through nine games in 2021.
Sophomore pitcher Saya Swain broke Iowa State's single-game record with 17 strikeouts against UNI. Nationally, it is tied for the second-most strikeouts in a game this season. Swain is averaging 13.0 strikeouts per seven innings, a top 5 mark nationally.
Head coach Jamie Pinkerton is in his fifth season at the helm of the ISU softball program. Pinkerton has led Iowa State to its two highest RPI finishes in program history (No. 48 in 2019, No. 34 in 2021).
Iowa State is in the midst of a 35-game road trip to begin the season. The Cyclones won't play a home game until April 6 against UNI. After spending Opening Weekend indoors in Cedar Falls, Iowa and week two in Washington D.C., ISU will play 15 games in California, five games in Arizona, three games in Utah and three games in Texas.

Iowa State Poised For Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic

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Players Mentioned

Mikayla Ramos

Saya Swain

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Iowa State University Athletics

Iowa State Poised For Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Mikayla Ramos

Saya Swain

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