Iowa State finished up a three-game series in Tempe, Arizona, Saturday against Arizona State and could not come away with a game, getting swept by the Sun Devils. 

The Cyclones are now currently sitting at 6-7 overall on the season.

Cyclone offense sputters out

Iowa State could not do much on Saturday as it combined to score five runs in a doubleheader against Arizona State. The Cyclones put up eleven hits combined on the day, but did not produce enough runs to beat the Sun Devils in both games. 

The only run in the 2-1 loss in the first game came from a sacrifice fly from freshman third baseman Ashley Minor.

The other four runs came from the second game which started off with a solo home run from junior center fielder Milaysia Ochoa in the second inning to start off the scoring. A double from freshman first baseman Paige Nakashima helped score the second run to make it 5-2 Arizona State in the fifth. 

A small rally then began in the seventh as two runs were scored thanks to errors by the Sun Devils defense. But it wasn’t enough as they fell by a final score of 9-4. 

Iowa State faced some tough competition and did not keep up with the Sun Devils’ high-powered offense.

Strong first game from pitching staff

Freshman Tatum Johnson and freshman Jaiden Ralston kept the Cyclones within reach in the first game, as they only gave up two runs on four hits combined while only allowing one walk. 

This bounce-back pitching performance did not hold as the Cyclones gave up nine runs to the Sun Devils in their second matchup of the day. Four different pitchers were called in during the second game as they tried to stop the onslaught from Arizona State but failed to do so.

Looking ahead

The trip to Tempe certainly did not pan out well for Iowa State, but now after having some experience against a tough team on the road, they now look to bounce back in their next tournament. 

They head back to Ames to prepare for the Wooo Pig Classic on Thursday in Fayetteville, Arkansas.