IOWA CITY — Iowa State dropped its final midweek matchup of the season with a 5-0 loss to Iowa Tuesday night, falling to 28-21 overall. The Cyclones were held to just two hits in the in-state rivalry, snapping their recent stretch of high-scoring games.
Pitcher’s duel early turns on third-inning run
Junior Jaiden Ralston breezed through the first two innings, but trouble began in the third. A one-out walk followed by a single and a passed ball put runners in scoring position. Iowa’s Tory Bennett then delivered a sacrifice fly to center, putting the Hawkeyes on the board.
“I think, except for one swing of the bat, it was a really competitive game,” Iowa State head coach Jamie Pinkerton said. “Offensively, we didn’t do enough in between. We’ve been averaging six, seven, eight runs a game — and we picked a bad night to hit the skid.”
Diving grab from Allen halts Hawkeye threat
In the bottom of the fifth, with Iowa threatening again, sophomore Lauren Schurman issued a walk and allowed a sacrifice bunt to move the runner. With two outs, a ball was roped to left-center, but senior Angelina Allen laid out for a diving catch to keep the deficit at one.
Grand slam breaks game open
The game unraveled for Iowa State in the sixth. Schurman, working her third inning, gave up back-to-back singles and a walk. With two outs and a full count, Iowa’s Jaylee Ojo stepped up as a pinch hitter and blasted a grand slam over the right-center wall that extended the Hawkeye lead to 5-0.
“That one swing changed everything,” Pinkerton said. “We just didn’t execute when we needed to. We’ve seen quality pitching before, but [Iowa’s] pitcher was just better than our offense tonight.”
Adams dominates Cyclones’ bats
Iowa’s Jalen Adams pitched a complete game gem, allowing just two hits and one walk over seven innings. She struck out seven and threw only 85 pitches, improving her record to 23-5.
“I’ve seen her since eighth grade — she’s a competitor, a winner,” Pinkerton said. “She’s taken her team to state every year and has helped that group grow into a really good team.”
Box score breakdown
Freshman Sereniti Trice and Allen recorded the only hits for Iowa State, while freshman Karlee Ford worked the team’s lone walk. The Cyclones struck out seven times and left two runners stranded.
Ralston went three innings and gave up two hits and one unearned run with two strikeouts. Schurman handled the final three, allowing three hits, four earned runs and two walks.
Defensively, Iowa State played clean aside from the passed ball that led to the first run.
“Anytime you can play high-RPI games late in the year to bolster your resume, it’s a good thing,” Pinkerton said. “Now it’s about how we bounce back at home.”
Iowa State vs. Drake canceled due to forecasted rain
Shortly following the conclusion of the second rendition of the Cy-Hawk series, Iowa State’s scheduled midweek matchup with Drake has been canceled due to a rainy forecast for Wednesday afternoon. The game was set to be played at the Cyclone Sports Complex in Ames.
The cancellation marks just the third for Iowa State this season, joining earlier weather-related cancellations against Saint Mary’s and Samford in February and March.
With the game removed from the schedule, the Cyclones finish the season 5-1 in midweek games and 15-13 in regular-season non-conference play.
Iowa State now turns its attention to its final Big 12 series of the regular season, hosting Baylor this weekend. Game times are set for 4 p.m. Friday, 1 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday. All three games will stream on ESPN+.
