AMES — Starting hot and ending hot, Iowa State took down South Dakota 8-0 in five innings on Tuesday evening at the Cyclone Sports Complex.

Four of the Cyclones’ runs came before a 53-minute lightning delay with two outs in the bottom of the first inning. The other four came after the delay in a walk-off grand slam from junior designated player Isabelle Nosan.

Next, the Cyclones head to Provo, Utah for a three-game series against the BYU Cougars. Game one, Thursday, and game two, Friday, will both start at 7 p.m. Game three will start at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Lightning and big swings define Cyclones’ victory

The first four runs came from an RBI single by sophomore second baseman Kadence Shepherd and a three-run home run by sophomore catcher Karlee Ford. Ford’s home run was her sixth of the year.

“It really helped us,” Ford said. “We kind of went into the break feeling more at ease, knowing that we had a four-spot on the team and also knowing the first inning wasn’t over with.”

After the lightning delay, there was no offense shown by either team until the bottom of the fifth inning, when the Cyclones ended the game with a walk-off grand slam by Nosan.

Before the game, Nosan had taken 20 trips to the plate this season but had only gotten one hit out of those 20 at-bats.

“I’m just trying not to put too much pressure on myself,” Nosan said. “Obviously, I haven’t produced as well as I wish I would have been at this point in the year, so I’m really just trying to put the ball in play.”

Annual “pink out” makes victory even more meaningful

With Iowa State’s game against South Dakota being their annual “pink out” game, the win meant a little bit more to the team.

“I think cancer has touched all of our lives,” head coach Jamie Pinkerton said. “My dad’s died of it. My grandparents died of it.”

“My aunt Gala and my grandma Sherry, both had breast cancer,” Ford said. “We do this every year, and every year it’s just good to play for something that’s bigger than ourselves.”