Iowa State lost to high-powered No. 1 Texas 5-2 Friday in the first matchup of a three-game series in Austin, Texas.
Texas entered the day with a nine-game win streak, including two wins against then-No. 1 Oklahoma. Iowa State entered with a 10-game losing streak to the Longhorns, and the 5-2 loss extended it to 11.
The Cyclones totaled four hits Friday, three of which came in the sixth inning. The bats from the Cyclones’ win against St. Thomas did not translate to the game against Texas, and the Longhorns took advantage of the poor performance at the plate from Iowa State.
Both teams went scoreless in the first two innings, as pitching dominated the game early. Texas got on the board in the third inning with a solo shot from Mia Scott. The scoring continued in the fourth for the Longhorns with a two-run home run by Katie Stewart.
Texas tallied two more runs in the fifth inning, extending its lead to 5-0. The Cyclones had a strong sixth inning, with doubles from Milaysia Ochoa, Angelina Allen and Carli Spelhaug. Allen’s double drove in Ochoa, and Spelhaug’s double drove in Allen.
Texas’ Teagan Kavan dominates the Cyclones
Kavan is the Longhorns’ ace, entering the day eighth in the Big 12 in strikeouts and holding a 1.87 ERA.
Kavan pitched six innings against Iowa State on Friday and added eight strikeouts. Iowa State could not figure Kavan out until the sixth inning, getting one hit in the first five innings of the game.
The Cyclones have averaged seven runs in their last three games, but nobody could figure out Kavan. Ochoa, who has a .309 average, went 1-4 against the strong pitching from Texas.
Jaiden Ralston’s strong performance
Despite pitching three days prior and having to close out the game against St. Thomas, Ralston started against the highly-talented Longhorns on Friday.
Ralston pitched 4.1 innings and allowed three hits. Putting up those numbers against a team with two batters hitting over .400 and all but one player hitting above .340 was no easy task.
Bats showed up too late
The Cyclones earned their first hit in the third inning and did not have another one until the sixth inning when they added three.
Contrary to the game against St. Thomas where Ashley Minor hit a home run in the first inning, Iowa State could not put a ball in a gap to get on base.
Against any opponent, and especially against the top team in the country, the bats need to get going early to come away with a win.
Iowa State is back in action at 1 p.m. Saturday against the Longhorns for the second game of the series.
