AMES — Iowa State sophomore catcher Karlee Ford hit a walk-off grand slam to upset No. 22 UCF 13-9 on Saturday afternoon at the Cyclone Sports Complex.
With the win, the Cyclones moved to 32-22 overall and 9-14 in Big 12 play while the Knights fell to 37-15-1 and 13-9-1 on the season.
The Cyclones’ senior day at home is set for 11 a.m. Sunday. This game against the Knights is what could also be their final game of the 2026 season.
Ford leads off and anchors Cyclones’ rally
Before the fourth inning, the Cyclones had no hits and trailed 4-0. In the fourth and fifth innings, the Cyclones quickly changed that narrative.
“I always have the same mentality of just putting the ball in play,” Ford said. “My approach was different with [UCF’s redshirt sophomore right-handed pitcher Isabella] Vega, who went in to pitch. She likes to come up and in a lot, so I was working on a different step into my swing and stuff this past week.”
Ford started with a solo home run, followed by a double by senior first baseman Sydney Malott. Pinch hitters sophomore Victoria Prado and freshman Ava Wilmes both followed up with singles. Wilmes’ RBI single brought Malott around to make the score 4-2.
Senior center fielder Tatum Johnson’s two-run RBI triple to left center tied the game at 4-4. The momentum didn’t stop in the fifth inning.
One thing head coach Jamie Pinkerton pointed out was the importance of finding players with a “never quit” mentality. That same mentality was brought into the bottom of the fourth inning.
After Ford got on base, Malott crushed a 253-foot home run to make it 6-4, the first time the Cyclones led in the game. Sophomore left fielder Jessie Clemons added to it with a two-run RBI single later in the inning to make it 8-4.
“I got lucky that time,” Malott said. “She was a new pitcher coming in, so just trusting my training and trusting the work we put in prior to the week was really important.”
After a scoreless sixth inning, the Cyclones needed two runs to win, but came away with five. Following an RBI single from sophomore second baseman Kadence Shepherd, Ford walked off the Knights with a grand slam.
“That home run was so we could keep on playing and keep on pushing to get to the postseason,” Ford said.
Front and back-end pitching keeps Cyclones alive
Freshman pitcher Liv Palumbo carried a 6.84 ERA into Saturday’s game against the Knights. Palumbo held UCF scoreless in the first two innings and gave up two runs in the third.
“That’s what we needed,” Pinkerton said. “Obviously, we’d like to go a little bit deeper with her, but Lauren [Schurman] didn’t have to throw yesterday, and that got her the extra rest.”
Palumbo was pulled in the top of the fourth after giving up three runs and four hits. After junior right-handed pitcher Schurman gave up five runs, senior right-handed pitcher Jaiden Ralston closed the top half of the seventh inning by giving up no hits and securing all three outs.
