PROVO — Iowa State managed to win the series against BYU following a 9-6 win Saturday afternoon. The Cyclones’ record moves to 27-18, and 7-11 in the Big 12.
The Cyclones scored in five of seven innings in Provo, and Ava Mullen and Lauren Schurman shut the door to defeat the Cougars.
Iowa State returns to Ames to host the Hawkeyes and sweep the Cy-Hawk series.
Iowa State controlled the contest early
Even though 15 runs were scored between the two teams, only three runs came in the first three frames.
Sophomore left-fielder Jessie Clemons set the tone by walking, stealing a base and advancing on a wild pitch. She stood on third as sophomore catcher Karlee Ford sent a fly ball to center, deep enough to score Clemons.
Both teams went three up, three down in the second inning, but the Cyclones struck again in the third.
Iowa State loaded the bases after a couple of singles and a walk to set up the heart of the Cyclones order.
With two outs, Kadence Shepherd singled to the right side to score two. Iowa State led BYU 3-0 after three innings.
Both teams heated up as the game came to a close
After a low-scoring start, the Cyclones and Cougars caught fire towards the end of the battle.
Just like the first inning, Clemons wound up on third for Ford to hit her in via a sacrifice fly to center to extend their lead to three.
BYU committed an error later on in the inning that proved costly, as senior centerfielder Tatum Johnson hit a grounder to the pitcher, which was enough to score the runner from third.
The Cougars led off their half of the frame with three straight singles, but only punched in one.
Senior third baseman McKenna Andrews hit her fifth homer of the season, and second of the series, to put the Cyclones up 7-2.
BYU retaliated and registered two of its own, but Iowa State wasn’t done yet. The Cyclones loaded the bases with no outs, and Lauren Schurman got an at-bat. She didn’t waste it by singling up the middle, cashing in senior shortstop Reagan Bartholomew from third.
Senior first baseman Sydney Malott hit a ball towards the right-center gap that the center-fielder flagged down, but Shepherd scored on the play.
BYU’s sophomore right-handed pitcher Hailey Shuler, who is also one of the Cougars best batters, hit a home run in the final frame to cut the lead to three.
Iowa State held on to win 9-6.
The entire Cyclones lineup contributed
Almost every hitter in the Cyclones lineup recorded a hit, and all came through in the win.
Iowa State scored nine runs, and only two runs came off the long ball. It was the ninth hitter for the Cyclones, Andrews, who sent it out.
Clemons, the leadoff hitter, got on base three times and scored every time she was on. Ford followed Clemons and got two RBIs on sacrifice flies. Shepherd singled to score two.
Even the junior right-handed pitcher Lauren Schurman got in on the fun with a single to center in the seventh.
Malott, who had been struggling, recorded a hit, run and sacrifice fly that gave the Cyclones their ninth run.
Iowa State’s balanced attack on Saturday showed why they are one of the best offenses in the Big 12.
