AMES – Iowa State is set to collide with in-state rival Iowa in Ames at 4 p.m. Tuesday. The matchup is the first of two this season with the Hawkeyes.
The Cyclones are 46-35 all-time in the Cy-Hawk series and are currently on a four-game win streak against the Hawkeyes. Although the teams did not meet in 2024, the last matchup in 2023 ended in an Iowa State win, 7-4.
Iowa State is 20-18 this season and will enter off of a successful weekend on the road against Oklahoma State. The Cyclones took two of three against the Cowgirls and continued to prove they can hang with top programs in the Big 12.
At 6-4 in their last 10, they’ve been playing the best they have all season as of late, and they appear to only be getting better. Iowa State will look to come out with heightened motivation to notch another win in the historic rivalry against Iowa.
Meanwhile, Iowa has been impressive this season. The Hawkeyes are 25-15 overall, and at 7-6 in conference play, they sit eighth in the Big Ten.
Iowa matches Iowa State with two ranked wins this season, those being No. 20 Nebraska and No. 5 UCLA. Despite being on a three-game win streak, the Hawkeyes are 4-6 in their last 10 after being swept by Wisconsin, getting beat twice by Nebraska and falling to Illinois State.
Hitting
Iowa State freshman Jessie Clemons has led the team this season at the plate batting .384 with 25 RBIs, but the team has a ton of depth. Freshman Sereniti Trice (.370), junior Tatum Johnson (.333), senior Angelina Allen (.317) and junior Sydney Malott (.306) are all hitting above .300.
Malott leads the team in home runs with nine; four of which came last weekend against Oklahoma State and will aim to carry that momentum into the Cy-Hawk game.
Trice and Clemons have been quick this season, with 14 and eight stolen bases, respectively. Trice has been thrown out once in what is an otherwise spotless record for the pair.
Jena Young and Soo-Jin Berry lead the attack for the Hawkeyes, carrying much of the offensive weight. Young has a .382 average, with 33 runs and 22 RBIs. Berry edges her in RBIs with 26, but holds a slightly lower .363 average.
Berry also leads the team in home runs, matching Malott’s nine. She contributes nearly half of Iowa’s 20 homers, compared to Iowa State’s 33.
The squads have nearly identical team batting averages, with the Hawkeyes’ .283 barely topping the Cyclones’ .281.
Pitching
The Cyclones have used a “pitch by committee” bullpen all season. Sophomore Lauren Schurman, junior Jaiden Ralston and freshman Abby Huhn have all been crucial pieces of the puzzle in finding success in the circle. All three hold exact records at .500: Schurman 9-9, Huhn 3-3 and Ralston 6-6.
Schurman has the lowest ERA of the trio at 2.86 in her 33 appearances. She has been the cornerstone of the effort, pitching 95.1 innings thus far.
Jalen Adams has been an ace for Iowa this season, holding a 18-5 record and a 2.15 ERA. With 104 strikeouts, she only has 13 less than the entire Cyclone bullpen.
Adams shares the circle with Talia Tretton, and the pair claim the vast majority of appearances for the Hawkeyes. Tretton is 7-7 this season with two saves. She holds a 3.71 ERA with 73 strikeouts.
Iowa’s pitching could prove problematic for the Cyclones, who have struck out 204 times this season, but the Iowa State bullpen has been great this season when it needs to be, and head coach Jamie Pinkerton has effectively managed it, making adjustments when needed.
The bad blood between these programs runs deep, and the Cy-Hawk always means more than a normal matchup for both teams. The next chapter in the rivalry will begin at 4 p.m. Tuesday from the Cyclone Sports Complex and will be streamed live on ESPN+.
