Iowa State softball finished its 2022 regular season Saturday with a double header against Big 12 opponent Kansas. 

The Jayhawks handed Iowa State a loss in the first outing, but the Cyclones rebounded to win the second leg and finished the season with a winning record of 27-26. 

Iowa State failed to complete a comeback in game one, and Kansas snapped the Cyclones’ four-game win streak. Kansas jumped out to a 3-0 lead and completed the win by a score of 3-2.

The final game of the season ended 5-3 in favor of Iowa State. 

“I didn’t think we came out attacking like we did in game two,” Pinkerton said about adjustments made between games.

“I think they had a different mindset,” Pinkerton said. “They know what’s at stake.”

Iowa State now enters the postseason. The Cyclones travel to Oklahoma City for the conference single elimination tournament. 

Big 12 conference teams have one more day of competition. The Cyclones’ tournament seeding will be in part be decided by a matchup between Baylor and Texas on Sunday. 

A Texas win would propel Iowa State into the fourth position on the Big 12 conference standings. Iowa State was capable of finishing as high as fourth and as low as seventh entering its final series with Kansas.

In game one, starting pitchers created four complete shutout innings of softball. 

Ellie Spelhaug received the start and the junior for Iowa State allowed three hits and one walk in her first four innings of work. 

Spelhaug received Big 12 pitcher of the week honors after winning a rivalry matchup against Iowa and a Big 12 matchup against Baylor for her team last week.

Spelhaug returned to the circle to pitch the fifth inning. The frame started with Kansas’ Haliegh Harper reaching base after being hit by Spelhuag’s pitch. A Kansas single then set up the game’s first scoring play. 

Sarah Roszak homered to right field after entering to pinch hit for Kansas in the nine spot in the order. 

Karlie Charles then replaced Spelhaug in the circle and retired the Jayhawks in order to finish the fifth. 

With Charles in the circle, Iowa State threatened the Kansas lead. The Cyclones added one run in the sixth and another in the seventh. Milaysia Ochoa struck out looking to end game one and Iowa State’s comeback attempt. 

Kansas starter Katie Brooks pitched a complete game and earned the pitching win.

In game two, the Cyclones secured the lead early. 

RBI base hits from Angelina Allen and Alesia Ranches put Iowa State ahead 2-0 after the first inning. 

Allen, a freshman, continued her game two with two more singles. The Cyclone first basemen finish three-for-three in the second game of the day. 

Kansas used a three-run home run in the third inning to take the lead, but Iowa State responded in the bottom half with two runs of its own.

Iowa State held the lead the rest of the way to clinch its second Big 12 series win. 

Iowa State catcher Mikayla Ramos came up shy of setting another single season RBI record for Iowa State softball. 

Ramos brought home 57 runs for Iowa State in 2021, the best for any Cyclone in a single campaign. 

The Iowa State senior needed five RBIs in three games against Kansas to set a new mark before closing out the 2022 regular season.

Ramos ended the season the year with 53 RBIs, four short of another Iowa State record.