The Cyclone softball team faced their toughest match-up yet in the fall season, as they hosted Des Moines Area Community College on Sunday. They were able to come out on top after a well fought back-and-forth game.

This 8-5 victory over DMACC gave Iowa State the final insight it needed as to what is going to work for their team going forward. Iowa State will look to clean up a few areas and continue to improve going into the last week of the fall season.

Clean up mistakes on defense 

Iowa State was put to the test on Sunday against DMACC. The Bears came out strong and had the lead against the Cyclones multiple times throughout the game.

One thing that really stood out in this game was the amount of costly errors that led to DMACC scoring runs. A pair of errors in the fifth inning led to three runs for DMACC and another pair of errors in the ninth led to their final two runs.

Iowa State’s hitting would win out in the end, but the team will need to clean up these errors as they enter the last week of the fall season.

Another issue with the way that the errors played out was that each pair of errors were committed by the same players.

Solid pitching 

The Iowa State bullpen performed well against DMACC, with the only runs being given up off of errors.

Iowa State started the day strong, allowing no hits in the first four innings. The pitchers would end up only facing 13 batters and recording 12 outs to open the day. 

Karlie Charles did a great job getting out of the treacherous fifth inning and recorded five strikeouts through her two and third innings on the mound.

Overall, the pitching staff did a good job of allowing the defense to make plays. With only four hits being given up throughout the game, the Cyclones are going to look to build on this as they head into the remainder of the fall season. 

Clutch at-bats 

For the first time this fall season, Iowa State has been behind in a game. The Bears put the Cyclones to the test as they traded leads twice throughout the game.

The big thing that the team demonstrated at the plate was how well they performed under high pressure situations. 

They were able to battle back from a two run deficit to go up 4-2 after seven innings. 

One play that really cemented Iowa State’s victory was in the bottom of the ninth inning. Trailing by one point, an extremely athletic double-play from the DMACC first baseman cleared the bases for Iowa State. 

With two outs on the board, Skyler Ramos hit a deep shot to the left-center gap to give herself a standup triple. The intensity that she showed at the plate would push the Cyclones to score three runs in the inning and secure their victory over the Bears. 

Iowa State will need to keep up this intensity and fight to win as they finish out the fall season with the Big 4 Classic.

The Cyclones are traveling to Cedar Falls, Iowa, to play Drake in the first game on Saturday.