CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — Iowa State defeated Northern Iowa (26-15) on the road with a 6-2 victory to improve to 26-19 on the season.
First inning blast leads to early momentum, Panthers threaten but fall
After a one-out single by freshman Jessie Clemons, junior Tatum Johnson roped a ball over the left field wall on a 1-0 count to put the Cyclones up 2-0. Johnson kept her approach simple, focusing on attacking early in the count.
“Lately, I’ve just been going to the box and trying to hit the ball hard, not trying to do too much,” Johnson said.
Junior Jaiden Ralston got the start in the circle and navigated out of a bases-loaded jam in the first. After two singles and a walk, she induced a lineout to left field and followed it up with back-to-back strikeouts, despite a foul ball home run scare with one out.
Cyclones extend lead in fourth and fifth
Senior Angelina Allen opened the fourth inning with a single, followed by freshman Karlee Ford drawing a one-out walk. With two outs and runners on first and second, junior McKenna Andrews delivered an RBI single up the middle to extend the Cyclones’ lead.
Johnson wasn’t done. Up in the fifth for her third at-bat, and once again on a 1-0 count, she launched her second homer of the game over the center field wall to make it 4-0. It marked Johnson’s first multi-home run game of her career.
“At first, I took off the bag and just knew it was out,” Johnson said. “That second one, I never swing at up-and-in pitches, but I did and it went over. That felt really good.”
Panthers pounce back gently, Cyclones respond
Sophomore Lauren Schurman came in to relieve Ralston in the fourth and worked a clean inning. UNI responded in the fifth, starting with a leadoff walk and a double, then plating a run on an RBI single to cut the lead to 4-1.
After a leadoff strikeout in the top of the sixth, sophomore Isabelle Nosan singled up the middle, setting the stage for Andrews, who launched a homer over the left field wall to push the Cyclones’ lead to 6-1.
“It gives you a lot of relief as a pitcher when the offense is rolling,” Schurman said. “I always know I can trust our hitters to back me up.”
The Panthers scratched across one more run in the seventh, but their rally fell short as the Cyclones secured the 6-2 victory.
Box score breakdown
Offensively, Iowa State tallied 10 hits, walked three times, struck out just twice and left seven runners on base. Andrews and Johnson led the way with multi-hit games, while Johnson racked up four RBIs.
Ralston started in the circle and threw for three innings with two allowed hits, three strikeouts and three walks across 64 pitches.
Schurman picked up her 13th win, tossing four innings, allowing three hits and two runs with three walks and one strikeout across 81 pitches. Tuesday marked Schurman’s 40th appearance of the season and her ninth outing in the last 11 days.
“Our pitching staff and trainers do a great job managing our workload,” Schurman said. “It’s been pretty manageable, and I know we’re all built for this.”
Head coach Jamie Pinkerton praised the team’s performance against a strong UNI squad.
“They’ve won 17 of their last 22, so we knew we were facing a well-coached team,” Pinkerton said. “We came in today and did what we had to do.”
The Cyclones will use their three-game win streak and much-needed three days of rest before heading to Salt Lake City for a crucial Big 12 series against Utah. The three-game set starts at 6 p.m. Friday.
