The Iowa State baseball team took the first two games of a three game series this weekend at Cap Timm field to improve their record to 11-15. The Cyclones downed the Baylor Bears 3-2 and 19-9 on Saturday, with the Bears coming back for a victory on Sunday 18-11.

In game one, both teams featured their number one starter on the mound. Junior pitcher Ryan Seifert began the game on the mound for the Cyclones as he battled Baylor’s Kris Lambert.

Both pitchers had exceptional games with ISU’s Seifert getting the win with a career high ten strikeouts and only two walks in 7.0 innings of work. Seifert evened his record at 3-3 on the season.

“Ryan pitched another good outing. With ten K’s, two walks and four hits, unless someone had a better performance that should be conference pitcher of the week material. He had an exceptional outing today,” Head Coach Lyle Smith said.

The Cyclones managed eight hits against Baylor in the game with junior third baseman Bill Uelmen coming through with two home runs in the contest to lead the Cyclones at the plate.

Uelmen finished the game going 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Iowa State opened the scoring in the second inning as senior catcher Guye Senjem had a lead off double to set the table. Senjem scored on senior left fielder Scott Vance’s RBI single to give the Cyclones an early 1-0 lead.

The Bears came back with a run of their own in the top of the third to even the score at one a piece.

Uelmen then took over as he blasted a line drive, solo home run over the left field fence to give ISU a 2-1 advantage in the sixth inning. The junior third baseman struck again as he hit his second solo home run of the game in the eighth to stretch the lead to 3-1.

“Bill was the offense in the first game, his two home runs were a big pick up for us. They intentionally walked him late because they didn’t want to fool around with him. When he gets on a roll, he’s very dangerous,” Smith said.

Baylor scored a run in their half of the ninth, but junior closer Steve Larkin held on to record his third save and preserve the win.

The Iowa State offense erupted in game two as they scored 19 runs on 18 hits to defeat the Bears. Junior first baseman Shawn Leimbek, returning to the line up following an ankle injury against Kansas, led the Cyclone charge at the plate going 6-for-6 with five RBIs, four runs scored and two home runs.

“The trainer thought he wasn’t ready, but Shawn said he was. His mobility was somewhat limited but he did a great job. You can’t say enough about going 6-for-6 with five RBI and four runs scored, that was truly a great job,” Smith said.

“Actually I think the ankle helped a little, it made me keep my weight back. I just got it going with a hit right away and that got me started. Getting a hit in my first at-bat really helped get my confidence up,” Leimbek said.

The Cyclones scored in every inning of the second game, highlighted by a five run first to jump on the Bears right away. ISU sent nine batters to the plate in the first. Leimbek started it off with a single, followed by a single from Senjem as well.

Senior right fielder Clark Jones brought in the first runs for ISU with a three run shot over the left field fence. The home run was Jones’ seventh on the season to lead Iowa State.

Junior second baseman Brian Bohannon then came through with a two-RBI single to bring in Uelmen and sophomore DH Matt Faulken.

Keeping the pressure on Baylor, ISU scored a run in the second, although the Bears scored two of their own in the top of the third. Iowa State came back in their half of the third to plate three of their own as Bohannon had an RBI single to score Jones and Faulken. Senior center fielder Mike Bahun knocked in Bohannon with an RBI fielder’s choice to bring the Cyclone lead to 9-2. Baylor scored a run in their half of the fourth, but Leimbek struck again as he matched the Bears with his first home run of the season, a solo shot to center field.

Iowa State scored one in the fifth, but Baylor came back with a grand slam in the sixth to pull within three at 11-8. The Cyclones responded with three of their own in the sixth behind Bohannon’s three run double to left center that scored Leimbek, Uelmen and Faulken.

The Cyclones scored two more in the seventh behind Leimbek’s second home run of the game, an opposite field shot over the right field fence.

Baylor scored one in the top of the eighth, but it wasn’t nearly enough as the Cyclones scored three in their half to end the game by a score of 19-9, due to the ten run rule after seven innings. Junior pitcher Nathan Teut got the win for ISU pitching 5.1 innings.

“We played very hard today and the kids showed a lot of heart. It was a good day,” Smith said.

Baylor came back determined on Sunday jumping out to an early lead and holding on to down the Cyclones 18-11. The Bears led off the game with three runs in the first inning on two home runs. Bahun got the Cyclones started with a lead off home run of his own to cut the lead to 3-1.

Baylor continued to score at will on the ISU pitching staff as they scored at least one run in each of the first six innings to score 17 runs. The Bears combined for six home runs in the game.

Iowa State came back to make a game of it when they scored five in the fifth inning. Bahun walked and stole second to get the Cyclones going. Faulken and Leimbek walked. Bahun scored on a wild pitch as the runners advanced. Jones knocked in Leimbek and Faulken with an RBI single to center field. Uelmen drew a walk and senior Chris Grubb tripled to center to bring in Jones and Uelmen. ISU equaled Baylor’s sixth when they scored three runs. Faulken blasted a two run shot over the right field fence to score senior short stop Rob Ipsen, who reached on an error. Leimbek then reached on another Baylor error. Senjem walked and Uelmen singled up the middle to score Leimbek to pull ISU to within eight.

Holding the Bears scoreless, the Cyclones scored two more in their half of the eighth. Senjem drew his third walk of the game to start the ISU offense. Uelmen then hit his third home run of the series over the center field fence to plate Senjem and keep the Cyclones alive. Uelmen finished the game going 3-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored to lead the Cyclones’ offense.

Baylor scored one in the ninth and held the ISU bats to preserve the win, defeating the Cyclones 18-11.

“We didn’t control the strike zone very well. All of a sudden we’re down by seven going into our second at-bat, and that’s a lot to ask of the offense, we just fell a little short,” Smith said.”I was very pleased overall on the weekend, you’d like to get at least two wins in every series you get into,” Smith said.

The Cyclones’ next competition is against Northern Iowa on April 2 at Cap Timm field.

The double header begins at 2 p.m.