Iowa State softball suffered its third and final loss of a three-game series to the Texas Longhorns Sunday afternoon.

Iowa State again kept pace with the No. 21 Longhorns but couldn’t achieve the first win over the Big 12 opponent since 2017. Iowa State’s seven hits kept the Cyclones in striking distance, but nine runners left on base held back Iowa State’s upset attempt.

Iowa State fell to 19-16 with its third loss to Texas.

Iowa State was within one run of Texas before a four-run outburst in the fifth solidified the win and sweep for the Longhorns.

The offensive highlight

Leadoff hitter and left fielder Carli Spelhaug was Iowa State’s offensive highlight in Sunday’s game against Texas. Spelhaug scored both of Iowa State’s runs while she went three for four with two doubles on the day.

Spelhaug proved to be effective to all fields in her first three plate appearances.

Her first double to lead off the game was to right center field. Later on, the junior came around to score the game’s first run. Then, Spelhaug followed up in the next inning with another double, this time to left-field. In that inning, Iowa State could not turn runners on second and third into any runs. Texas responded by taking the lead in the bottom half.

In the fifth, Spelhaug singled to center and later scored.

Third baseman and clean-up hitter Kaylee Pond scored Spelhaug both times with RBI base hits.

In the series overall, Spelhaug was 7-11 at the plate. Against the Texas pitching staff, Iowa State’s leadoff batter earned four doubles and a home run.

Entering the series, Spelhaug was second nationally in runs scored per game. During the series with Texas, Spelhaug contributed four runs for Iowa State.

More Cyclones stranded

Spelhaug was the only Cyclone to cross the plate in the series finale in Austin. Nine runners in total were stranded on base during the contest.

In 14 attempts with runners in scoring position, Cyclone hitters provided just two hits. Both hits came from the redshirt freshman Pond and yielded one RBI.

Before traveling to Austin, Iowa State Head Coach Jamie Pinkerton emphasized the importance of timely hitting when trying to steal a game from a top-25 opponent.

The struggle to bring runners in has plagued multiple attempts to gain marquee wins in 2022. Against BYU, Iowa State left 19 runners on base in two games. Iowa State left 10 runners stranded in a 7-6 loss to Drake early in the season.

Notably, Iowa State left the bases loaded in the first inning and left runners on second and third in the second on Sunday.

The Longhorn hero

Texas first basemen and catcher Mary Iakopo is the team’s fifth best hitter in terms of batting average. But in the series with Iowa State, the senior was a standout performer.

In the second inning Sunday, Iakopo hit her second home run of the weekend on scoreboard shot in centerfield off Iowa State starter Karlie Charles.

Iakopo earned a free pass to first in each of her next two at bats. She crossed the plate to score a second run in the fifth inning.

Iakopo finished the series 5-9 with two home runs and seven RBI from her position as the clean-up hitter in the Texas lineup. Iakopo had the walk-off home run in Friday evening’s thrilling Texas win. She now leads Texas with eight home runs and 34 RBI.

After the series with Texas, Iowa State returns to Ames for the team’s home opener against Northern Iowa Wednesday

Pinkerton’s team will have just two full days of rest.

Northern Iowa and Iowa State will play at the Cyclones Sports Complex at 4 p.m. Wednesday in Ames.