Iowa State took home an 8-4 win over No. 18 Oklahoma State in the finale of the three game series Sunday. With the win, the Cyclones take the series, 2-1, which marks their first series victory in Stillwater since 1987.
The victory is a testament to the success the Cyclones have found this season. Now 9-6 in conference play, they sit in fourth in the Big 12 standings. The nine wins also set the record for the most conference wins in a season for Iowa State.
With three conference series left, there is certainly opportunity to move up even further.
Much of that success can be attributed to Iowa State’s strong freshmen class. That proved true in Sunday’s game, as the freshmen contributed to the win in a big way.
Freshman Karlee Ford led the way Sunday with a spectacular performance. After driving in the game winning run in Friday’s win, Ford continued her great weekend with three RBI’s on two hits, including a home run in the top of the sixth inning.
Fellow freshmen Sereniti Trice and Jessie Clemons contributed three and two hits respectively.
Sophomore Lauren Schurman served as Iowa State’s starting pitcher, giving up no earned runs in her three innings pitched before she was pulled in the fourth inning. Junior Jaiden Ralston then entered the game.
Ralston gave up five hits in the final four innings and kept the Cowgirls’ offense in check enough for the win behind the high-powered Cyclone bats. The win puts her at 6-6 on the season.
Iowa State came out swinging in the top of the first inning. Trice, Clemons and senior Angelina Allen loaded the bases, and Ford brought in Trice and Clemons with a single to right field.
Junior Reagan Bartholomew walked to load the bases again, and another walk for sophomore Isabelle Nosan brought home Allen to make the game 3-0 before the Cowgirls escaped.
In the second inning, junior Sydney Malott hit a two run bomb after Clemons walked. The home run was the fourth of the series for Malott, who played a crucial role in Iowa State’s success.
Now 5-0, the Cowgirls were already on the ropes, but they punched back with a run in the third. With the bases loaded, Tallen Edwards scored on an error at shortstop.
In the top of the fourth inning, Malott scored an unearned run when Ford reached on an error. Following another fielding error, junior Tatum Johnson scored to make the game 7-1.
Oklahoma State scored again in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI single from Tia Warsop, but as the innings flew by, the game began to look more and more out of reach.
Ford continued to make that evident when she homered to left field in the top of the sixth inning and extended the lead to 8-2.
In the bottom of the sixth, Edwards answered back with a two-run homer for Oklahoma State, but it was ultimately too little, too late, and after a quick seventh inning, Iowa State wrapped up the series win.
The Cyclones return to Ames for the annual Cy-Hawk matchup against the Iowa Hawkeyes at 4 p.m. Tuesday. Iowa State will look to build on its momentum and take down its rival live on ESPN+.
