AMES — Iowa State entered the second inning against Oklahoma State in a stalemate, 0-0.
Head coach Jamie Pinkerton pulled junior right-handed pitcher Lauren Schurman in favor of senior right-handed Jaiden Ralston to start the inning.
Iowa State disagreed with a couple of calls, specifically that Schurman couldn’t get calls on the outside part of the plate.
This continued with Ralston, who had a problem with a ball call against the first batter she faced, who she walked on five pitches.
Ralston was called for a pitch clock violation before throwing a pitch to the next batter.
Pinkerton was upset and came out of the dugout to get an explanation from the home plate umpire. The Cyclones coach rejoined his team in the dugout, but a pitch later, he was on his feet again.
The Oklahoma State batter laid down a bunt near the pitcher’s circle to move the runner on first to scoring position.
The play was shut down because Ralston was called for yet another pitch clock violation. It was not counted, and instead, the batter had an extra ball to work with.
It was the third pitch clock violation called in the series.
Pinkerton came out hot and demanded an explanation from every umpire on the field. The home crowd at Ames was furious and didn’t understand the umpire’s reasoning behind the calls.
Ralston was ejected from the game, and junior right-handed pitcher Ava Mullen came in relief.
The momentum switched in an instant.
Mullen plunked the hitter on her first pitch of the ballgame, and the Cowgirls had two runners on base.
After a sacrifice bunt, Oklahoma State’s nine hitter singled up the middle to score two.
In the third, the Cowgirls scored a run off a couple of hits and a walk. Mullen left the game for Schurman, who re-entered, but she gave up a two-run shot right away.
The fourth was not much different, as Oklahoma State’s catcher hit a three-run homer to left to put the Cowgirls up 8-0 in the final game of the series.
The Cyclones manufactured two more runs in the fifth, but Iowa State wound up losing 8-2.
