The Cyclones opened the Big 12 season against the highest ranked team in the Big 12, No. 11 Oklahoma.

The Sooners (25-8) swept the series from the Cyclones (17-15) 10-7 on Saturday and 10-0 on Sunday in Norman, Okla.

Iowa State gave the Sooners all they could handle in the first game of the double-header on Saturday. The team stayed ahead of or within one run of the Sooners until Amber Flores hit a walk-off three-run home run for the Sooners with two outs in the bottom of the seventh.

“I thought [Saturday] we came out and swung the bats really well. We played well on defense, we didn’t have any errors… we just couldn’t quite hold them off,” said head coach Stacy Gemeinhardt-Cesler.

Despite the close loss, junior catcher Alex Johnson said that the team took a lot of positive from the game and refused to hang their heads.

Oklahoma took control early in the second game of the series, scoring two runs in the first inning and continuing to score in each inning while pitcher Allee Allen held the ISU offense to just one hit.

“Any time you don’t score, it doesn’t matter how many runs you give up, you aren’t going to win,” said Gemeinhardt-Cesler.

Close but no cigar

The Cyclones played a lot of one- or two- run games over spring break, but unfortunately for the team, it came out on top in just one.

Of the eight games that Iowa State played over the break, five of them were within one run with another within two runs in the seventh inning. Three of those games went to overtime. The Cyclones were only able to win a 13-inning thriller at Missouri State over the course of the week.

“It’s tough to lose those one-run games. I think we just need to get some timely hits, and start putting those hits together,” Johnson said.