The ISU softball team experienced one extreme to the other this weekend, upsetting No. 8 Baylor on Saturday only to be demolished by the Bears on Sunday.

The Cyclones were at their peak Saturday, locked in a scoreless game until the eighth inning. Baylor second baseman Carrie Leerberg put the first run on the board with a home run to right field with nobody out, but Baylor failed to add to the lead.

Iowa State didn’t falter, though. Cary Akins singled to center field, but was forced out after Jessica Quade hit into a fielder’s choice. Kristen Karanzias replaced Quade on the bases, and Ashley Killeen came through with a single down the right field line to score Karanzias. Freshman pinch-hitter Paige Jensen then broke through with a clutch double, sending Killeen home and securing the 2-1 upset for Iowa State.

“It was a big win for us, and it goes to show that late in the game anything can happen,” said coach Ruth Crowe.

Senior Kim Rodgers said she agreed the win was a pull in the right direction for the Cyclones.

“It’s an awesome feeling to have, hanging tough like that and beating a ranked team,” she said. “It was a great game.”

Iowa State recorded six hits to Baylor’s eight, but its errorless defense was the clincher for the win.

Alyssa Ransom recorded the win for the Cyclones after replacing Katie Reichling, and her record improved to 11-16.

Despite a strong start in Sunday’s game, Iowa State suffered two catastrophic innings it couldn’t recover from and was trounced in six innings, 11-3. Baylor improved to 44-9 overall and 10-6 in Big 12 play.

The game was made harder for both teams with blustery weather and a teeth-chattering wind that made balls difficult to field and hit.

“The bottom line is we lose our focus when we get in the lead,” Crowe said. “Also, we were obviously affected by the cold, and Baylor wasn’t, and that made them tougher than us today.”

Rodgers made the most of her first at-bat with a solo home run to center field, her second of the year. Akins then followed with a single to left and came home when Killeen blasted a double to the right-center fence.

The Cyclones upped the score in the second when Kristy Olsen was called safe on an error and brought home by Rodgers’ grounder up the middle.

But the Bears would roar back in the fourth inning with a two-run homer from Tessa Lynam.

Iowa State then began its meltdown and allowed six runs in the fifth. Baylor capitalized on several bases-loaded opportunities and carried the momentum into the sixth with three more runs. The Cyclones couldn’t produce in the sixth and the game was called by the eight-run rule.

“We didn’t stay in the game and we totally took ourselves out,” Crowe said. “Katie [Reichling] pitched well and got grounders for us, but we couldn’t make the plays. We can’t have those errors and we can’t do that with a good team.”

Iowa State fell to 18-28 on the season and 3-13 in conference action.

The team will take on Kansas next weekend in Ames for its final games before the Big 12 tournament in Oklahoma City.