AMES — After having a less-than-ideal four-day road trip to Utah, Iowa State looked to grab a home win before its trip to Austin, Texas, as the Cyclones hosted St. Thomas on Tuesday.
Led by third baseman Ashley Minor’s five-RBI day, Iowa State battled its way through an offensive slugfest to take down the Tommies 12-7.
Minor’s five RBIs was a career-high for the sophomore third baseman, as she helped give the Cyclones a much-needed home win before a tough ranked opponent.
“Honestly, it felt like a normal day,” Minor said. “I don’t really try to do anything more. I just work for the team and produce runs.”
Three of Minor’s five RBIs came in the bottom of the first inning as she blasted a three-run home run to center field that gave Iowa State the early lead. This home run is her eighth of the season, as she continues to be one of the Cyclones’ top long-ball hitters.
“[Minor] just keeps grinding,” Iowa State head coach Jamie Pinkerton said. “She’s aware of what she could do at the plate and knows what she’s looking for as a young hitter.”
The last two RBIs came in the form of a single with the bases loaded, as Minor got two runners to cross the plate in the bottom of the second inning for Iowa State.
Despite Minor’s career day, multiple other Cyclones made sizable contributions to help lead them past a tough St. Thomas team Tuesday.
One player in particular also shared the honor of having a career day at the plate, as first baseman Carli Spelhaug collected the 200th hit of her career with a single to left field in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Spelhaug became the sixth Iowa State player to reach this feat, as she joins teammate Milaysia Ochoa on the short list of Cyclones to surpass this career milestone.
“It’s awesome, especially doing it with another teammate, with [Ochoa]” Spelhaug said. “It’s a great milestone, and hopefully there’s more to come for the rest of the season.”
For Pinkerton, having two players surpass the 200-hit mark is something that does not happen often, and he expressed his gratitude to his two young stars.
“They’ve been good leaders, and it just shows the type of players they are,” Pinkerton said. “It was a great feat for both of them, and I’m proud of them.”
Along with the career days for Minor and Spelhaug, left fielder Angelina Allen continued her breakout season with a perfect 3-for-3 day at the plate with a walk and two runs scored, as she continues to lead Iowa State with a batting average over .400.
Catcher Camille Marin hit a second home run of the season, the third of Marin’s career, during the bottom of the fifth inning for the Cyclones with a two-run blast that gave Iowa State a double-digit run total.
Despite not getting the ideal outcome in its four-day stay in Utah, having a refreshing win in front of a home crowd is helping Iowa State gain some confidence before going on the road to face No. 1 Texas on Friday.
“It was a good outing to get to play in front of the home crowd,” Pinkerton said. “They came out and played fairly decent for as road-wary as they are right now, so it was good to come out and grind it out.”
