The Iowa State softball team continued its fall season success Sunday with wins over the North Dakota Fighting Hawks and the North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC) Trojans.
The Cyclones defeated North Dakota 4-0 and NIACC 13-1. Both dominating wins to keep rolling through the fall softball season.
Impact on the mound
All the pitchers for the Cyclones made an impact by setting the tone and motion of all innings they had on the field.
Saya Swain started off the day on the mound against North Dakota. While the Fighting Hawks started off with some solid contact, Swain finished the top of the first with three strikeouts to move the Cyclones to their first at-bat of the day.
Sophomore utility player Tatum Johnson came in at the start of the fourth against North Dakota for the Cyclones and put herself on top right away. Johnson ended the top of the fifth with three-straight strikeouts and continued with the same energy throughout the game.
Senior pitcher Karlie Charles entered the game against NIACC for the Cyclones in the fourth inning. From then on, Charles was a strong defensive player, getting the Trojans to swing for pitches and getting multiple strikeouts under her belt for the game.
The Cyclones kept a tight defense on the mound and in the field, only bringing in one run between the two games, as NIACC scored once in the first inning.
Getting the bats moving
The Cyclones finished the day with a win over NIACC, and the offense is what kept Iowa State on top through all nine innings.
It was a slower start at the plate for the Cyclones, however as time went on they started making contact. Angelina Allen and Alesia Ranches hit doubles back-to-back in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game 1-1. Johnson was up to bat right after and hit a two-run home run to center-right field to put the Cyclones up 3-1.
Later at the bottom of the eighth, Sophie Maras was hit by a pitch to reach first base to start the inning for the Cyclones. Johnson was up to bat next with a drive to left field to bring Maras home and put the Cyclones up 7-1.
Still in the bottom of the eighth, McKenna Andrews got a hit to left field to bring in two more runs, followed by an RBI by freshman Isabelle Nosan to finish off the inning with two more runs.
The Cyclones ended the game against NIACC with a total of 13 hits to take the game 13-1.
Next up for the Cyclones
While continuing an undefeated fall season, the Cyclones prepare for a packed weekend coming up.
The Cyclones start by taking on Drake on Friday. The last time the Cyclones battled it out with the Bulldogs was during non-conference play in the 2023 spring season. The Cyclones came out on top with a win against the Bulldogs 12-4 with the help of Malaysia Ochoa hitting her 12th home run of the season.
The Cyclones will also take on the undefeated Iowa Hawkeyes Saturday. The last time the Cyclones matched up with the Hawkeyes, they took the win 7-4 in Iowa City.
