Iowa State softball was underway Saturday afternoon for the second game of a three-game series against Baylor.

The Cyclones lost game one after tough competition from the pitchers of each team. It was only with an RBI in the bottom of sixth inning that put Baylor ahead 1-0; the final score.

In game two, the Cyclones started out strong but quiet. It wasn’t until the seventh inning that Iowa State really began to dominate over Baylor. 

Iowa State is currently in second to last place in the Big 12 standings. Baylor is only two spots ahead in the standings so it was a must win time for both teams if they want a chance in the postseason. 

However, Iowa State showed up and showed out by putting up six runs and a final score of 6-1 over Baylor. With that, they tied the series 1-1. 

Quiet start 

The first inning went quick as there were three up and three down for both teams. The second inning remained the same with no runs from either side. 

It wasn’t until the bottom of the third inning that some action was seen in Waco. Baylor sophomore, Ana Watson, became the first base runner of the afternoon after getting hit by a pitch. 

Along with that, a pair of errors from the Cyclones helped put Baylor on the board first. Watson scored after an RBI from Mckenzie Watson; her 26th RBI of the season. 

Come the top of the fourth, the Cyclone’s finally got their first hit of the game by Carli Spelhaug.

On top of that, the team fought back to put themselves on the board. A hit by Angelina Allen helped Spelhaug to get home and score. Along with her run, Spelhaug gained another stolen base. 

The junior and Iowan is currently the only active Division I player with a perfect stolen base percentage in their career. 

Charles is back

Junior Karli Charles made her comeback Saturday after playing very minimal games in the past weeks. 

In game two of their series against Texas Tech on April 15, Charles played only 0.1 of an inning before being replaced by teammates Saya Swain and Janessa Jasso. 

Charles was then sidelined with a pitching loss until their final game against Oklahoma on April 23. Even then, she only pitched 0.1 of an inning. 

The Texas native has spent time in the bullpen with the pitching staff working on how to successfully return and help her team get wins. 

Charles did not play in their game against Iowa or in the first game against Baylor. However, come game two, Charles was put into the lineup for starting pitcher and pitched 5.0 innings. 

In those innings, Charles had two hits, one run, two strikeouts and zero base on balls (walk). 

In her 36th appearance of the season, pitcher Ellie Spelhaug came to pitch in the sixth inning. 

The score remained 1-1 until the seventh inning when the Cyclones gained two RBI after a hit by senior Kasey Simpson and an error from Baylor. Milaysia Ochoa and Olivia Wardlow, a pinch runner, scored. 

Simpson then came in for another run after a hit by Skyler Ramos; her 49th RBI on the season which is good for 15th in NCAA. 

The runs kept coming for Iowa State. 

Sophomore Kaylee Pond hit the ball to left center giving herself a double and an RBI. Ramos [Skylar] scored and Natalie Wellet was able to advance to third. 

Carli Spelhaug then helped Wellet to score the sixth run after a hit to center field. Iowa State ended up with a five-run inning. 

One more to go

Iowa State will play the rubber match against Baylor in the final game of the series Sunday at noon. 

After that, the Cyclones will play only four more games, including a three-game series against Kansas at home, before the Big 12 Championships. 

As the season wraps up, Iowa State will continue to strive for a record that reaches the .500 mark as a second consecutive winning season is on the line. 

The final stats for game two for Baylor were one run, three hits and three errors. Iowa State had six runs, five hits and four errors.