Iowa State took the first half of its two-game series with a 6-5 victory against in-state rival Drake on April 9, 2013 despite a late rally by the Bulldogs.

Down 2-0 in the bottom of the third inning, ISU senior Erica Miller broke the Cyclones’ career RBI record with her 135th, driving in Brittany Gomez on a one-out double.

Each inning in which the Bulldogs scored a run in the top half of the frame, the Cyclones (18-19, 3-3 Big 12) responded with runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning.

In the bottom of the fifth, just after Drake (21-15, 7-3 MVC) regained the lead at 4-3, freshman designated hitter Aly Cappaert knocked out her first career home run as a Cyclone. The two-run homer pushed Iowa State back ahead at 5-4.

“It was awesome,” Cappaert said. “On a 3-2 count, she was throwing a lot of changeups so we just sat back on them. I expected the pitch and took it up the middle.”

Cappaert received the freshman treatment from the rest of the team after she rounded the bases as none of her teammates were at home plate to greet her.

“Its the tradition we get here,” said freshman Brittany Gomez, laughing. “We all told her that if she homered, there would not be anyone out there. Aly and I are really close, so it was fun to see her get her first one.”

Cappaert went to a few softball camps at Drake while in high school at Ankeny, but said it was nice to get her first home run at the new stadium.

The Cyclones added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth inning when Miller hit a sacrifice-fly to bring home Hawrlyuk.

With a good portion of the team being from California and southern states, the weather factored into the game for both teams.

“I’ve been up here in Ames for a while now but this game took me an inning to get used to,” said Gomez, who is from New Braunfels, Texas. “Back in Texas if it would be this cold they would usually cancel the game.”

Tori Torrescano pitched a complete game for the Cyclones, surrendering only three runs and striking out six hitters.

The victory pushes Iowa State’s winning streak to four games. The Cyclones will have the chance to extend that and sweep Drake as the team travels to Des Moines to play the Bulldogs again on April 10.

“The big thing is we’ve got to keep our intensity up,” said ISU coach Stacy Gemeinhardt-Cesler. “I assume they will start Schmidt tomorrow and we know how to attack her.”

Depending on the weather, first pitch for the game against Drake on April 10 is scheduled for 4 p.m.