AMES – The Cyclones closed out their series against Arizona State with a 4-3 victory to secure their second Big 12 series win. After jumping ahead early with runs in the first two innings, Iowa State surrendered three runs in the second but relied on strong pitching down the stretch to shut down the Sun Devils.
Head coach Jamie Pinkerton emphasized the importance of the series win, given Arizona State’s reputation.
“Well, I mean, you know, it’s a two out of three against a top 25 RPI team,” Pinkerton said. “Obviously, you want to try to protect the ground at home. But, I mean, just the tradition of their program—what they’ve done—they go to regionals every year, they’ve been a World Series team, they won a national championship. So, in that sense, it’s a name opponent. It’s a blue-blood opponent. You need to be able to do that against a new program. It’s huge for us.”
Sophomore Lauren Schurman started in the circle for the Cyclones and picked up the win, throwing four innings while allowing six hits, three earned runs and one walk against 17 batters.
Schurman opened the game strong with a one-two-three first inning, with the defense turning a double play. However, the second inning proved more challenging, as Arizona State plated three runs on four hits. Some of those could have been ruled as errors or tough infield plays.
Schurman settled down after that and allowed just one hit in the third inning after she faced four batters. She closed out her outing by working around a walk in the fourth and kept the Sun Devils scoreless for the remainder of her time on the mound.
When junior Jaiden Ralston took over in relief, she dominated the final three innings and did not allow a single hit or earned run. She also collected one strikeout and two walks.
Ralston kept the Sun Devils off balance with a one-two-three fifth inning, followed by a four-batter sixth. In the seventh, she walked the leadoff hitter, who was later called out for leaving early, which led to Arizona State hitting coach Josh Bloomer being ejected for arguing the call.
Despite a defensive miscue later in the inning, Ralston didn’t waver, finishing the game with a strikeout, which was the only one for the Cyclones’ pitching staff. Ralston credited her approach to pounding the strike zone and trusting her defense behind her.
“Individually, I just went out there and threw strikes, pounding the zone,” Ralston said. “I had a little struggle in the beginning, but I found it and knew my defense was behind me, knew that we had a lead—I just had to keep it.”
Iowa State’s pitching staff is not built around strikeouts, as it currently has the second-fewest in the Big 12, but its ability to induce weak contact has been a key factor in its recent success. Pinkerton acknowledged the effectiveness of his staff’s ability to grind through games.
“Oh, it was good,” Pinkerton said. “We pieced it together after that. You don’t ever want to put yourself in a position that we put ourselves in. We were lining up for today, and, you know, obviously it worked out for us.”
The Cyclones’ second Big 12 series win pushed their overall record to 16-15, with a 6-3 conference record. They have won five of their last six games, with pitching playing a crucial role in their momentum.
Junior Sydney Malott expressed how meaningful the win was, especially after battling through a long series.
“It was really exciting,” Malott said. “Yesterday was hard. We had a doubleheader—playing two games is never easy. The first game we were able to come out, and the second game was a little rough. But being able to respond to that second game and come out with the win in front of our home crowd was really awesome.”
Iowa State will look to carry its weekend momentum into a non-conference doubleheader against South Dakota State (18-17) Tuesday at the Cyclone Sports Complex. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m., with game two following at 4 p.m.
