What: Iowa State Softball vs. Baylor Bears

When: 2 p.m. Saturday, noon Sunday

Where: Southwest Athletic Complex

Media: Livestats available at www.cyclones.com

A three-run second inning was all Nebraska needed Thursday afternoon

to complete a midweek sweep of the ISU softball team.

After Nebraska’s Devin Porter led off the inning with a home run, the

Huskers collected a walk and two more hits amid some defensive

miscommunication by the Cyclones to plate their only runs in the 3-1

victory at the Southwest Athletic Complex.

“I think the home run really set the tone of the inning,” said coach

Stacy Gemeinhardt-Cesler. “Then after the walk, our defensive miscues

really came up to bite us. But those are things you just have to shake

off and bounce back in the next inning.”

And bounce back they did.

Senior pitcher Alyssa Ransom allowed just three hits in the next five

innings, and at one point retired 11 Nebraska hitters in a row,

keeping the Cyclones within striking distance.

After being no-hit by Nebraska’s Molly Hill through 5 1/3 innings,

senior center fielder Fallon Johnson erased the no-hitter by slapping

a single to left center field and putting some life into the Cyclone

offense.

“I had struggled with [Hill’s] outside pitches in my first few at

bats,” Johnson said. “So I went up there knowing I had to do

everything I could to hit it, because [the umpire] wouldn’t call it a

ball if I didn’t swing.”

Johnson then scored on freshman Alex Johnson’s double to plate, the

only run of the game against Hill, who leads the Big 12 in ERA at

0.99.

The Cyclone offense got something cooking again in the 7th, but left

the bases loaded to end the game and their strong bid for a comeback.

Iowa State will now shake off the sweep and turn to a weekend home

conference series against No. 10 Baylor (39-11, 9-2 Big 12), currently

second in the Big 12 standings behind Oklahoma.

“Baylor will be tough; there are just no breaks in the schedule,”

Gemeinhardt-Cesler said. “That’s the great thing about this

conference, is you get great opportunities to compete with some of the

best teams in the country, which only makes us better as a team.”

The Bears will bring the nation’s ninth best offense into Ames,

hitting .319 in 50 games this season. Senior Ashley Monceaux leads the

team with a .406 batting average, and is second in the conference in

home runs (14), and third in doubles (13) and RBI (51).

Baylor senior Lisa Ferguson leads a mediocre pitching staff that has a

2.06 ERA, good enough for fifth in the Big 12.

Games this weekend are set for 2 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday at the

Southwest Athletic Complex.