DES MOINES — Thanks to a strong pitching performance from freshman Dave Rossman, the Iowa State Cyclones were able to slide past the Northern Iowa Panthers in a Wednesday afternoon contest.

Rossman hurled a complete game two-hitter as ISU (17-23) claimed a 3-1 victory in the seven-inning contest at ISU’s home away from home, Sec Taylor Stadium.

It was the first win of the year for the right-hander. In recent weeks, Rossman (1-0) has begun seeing up more innings in middle relief.

Rossman’s work in the middle innings impressed ISU Manager Lyle Smith enough to give Rossman his first starting job of his Cyclone career.

“You can’t say enough for a two-hitter in seven innings. Dave did an outstanding job,” Smith said.

“He’s very intelligent out there; he’s very businesslike. He’s getting the most out of his ability. That’s all you can ask out of a kid, to give you 100 percent.”

On Wednesday, Rossman had a reason to give more than 100 percent. His opponent on the mound was fellow Sioux City native Kirk Chamberlain.

Chamberlain was nearly as impressive on the hill for the Panthers, but suffered the loss because of a costly first inning.

The Cyclones jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first, with Tom Wierzbicki and Shawn Leimbek crossing the plate on a double to the right-center field gap by designated hitter Matt McDonough.

But the Panthers (22-26) crept to within one in the second. After two quick outs, Brian Kegler drew a walk and was promptly driven home by an RBI double by Ryan McGuire.

After the three-hit first inning, ISU went hitless until the bottom of the fifth, when Brad Bjorklund led off the frame with a single. Making the most of their hits, he was moved up to second on a sacrifice bunt by Aaron Runk and scored on a double by Leimbek.

Using a mix of fastballs, sliders and changeups, Rossman continued mowing down Panther batters. UNI never mounted another serious challenge off Rossman, who struck out five.

“My arms felt a lot better now,” Rossman said. “I’m starting to feel more comfortable. I’m getting used to it out there, relaxing out there.”

On April 14, UNI was able to record a 7-1 win over ISU.

“It was nice to beat UNI because we had gone up there earlier in the year and had not played very well,” Smith said. “[And] it’s nice to beat in-state schools.”

Rossman agreed. “It’s good we got back at ’em,” he said. “It’s kind of a state pride thing.”

Rossman said the key to his success was just being around the plate. He said that having a solid defense behind him makes his job of throwing strikes easier.

While the Cyclones did commit two errors, the defense made several outstanding plays. Jeff Duncan made two running catches in right field, and second baseman Jade O’Brien made a diving, backhanded stop in the third inning to save a possible UNI run.

“They were making plays left and right,” Rossman said of his eight gloved teammates. “They played great today.”

The second game of the doubleheader, against the Iowa Hawkeyes, started at 7 p.m. A complete story will appear in tomorrow’s edition of the Daily.