Iowa State softball finished the Louisville Slugger Invitational with a loss on the final play of the final inning Sunday.

Sacramento State won 3-2 after Alesia Ranches was called out at home for the final out of the seventh inning. Ranches represented the tying run and was caught between third and home after Angelina Allen was walked.

Five defensive players touched the ball before she was tagged out. 

The Cyclones are now 15-9 on the 2022 season. 

Playing sharp 

Aside from the base-running miscue in the seventh inning, Iowa State tallied three errors on the defensive end.

All three of Sacramento State’s runs came unearned. Iowa State pitchers Saya Swain and Ellie Spelhaug allowed just one hit each while in the circle. 

It was fixable things that Iowa State Head Coach Jamie Pinkerton emphasized after losing three games a weekend ago at the Wildcat Invitational. Again the Cyclone squad recorded unforced errors at defining game moments. 

“We haven’t caught a lot of breaks,” Pinkerton said. “But good teams make their breaks. 

Sunday’s scoring started when Sacramento State’s Lexi Webb scored on a wild pitch in the top of the first inning. Webb reached base on a walk, then advanced to third on a fielding error.

While Nikki Barboza was at the plate, Swain’s errant pitch allowed the first run of the ballgame to score. Swain proceded to strike out Barboza to end the inning. 

In the fifth, Ellie Spelhaug replaced Swain on the mound. Once again, a Sacramento State batter earned a free pass. After the base-on-balls, Lewa Day stole second and moved to third on a sac bunt.

This time, it was a passed ball that put the Cyclones down 2-1. At the time of the passed ball, Natalie Wallet was behind the plate and Mikayla Ramos, the regular starter, was the designated hitter. 

Sacramento State’s final run came on a double from Caroline Evans. Rylee Gresham scored on the play after she reached base on a fielding error. 

All three facets

The Hornets scored three unearned runs Sunday, but the Cyclones tallied seven hits versus two from the opposition. Additionally, the Cyclone pitching staff had seven strikeouts and gave up no earned runs. 

When Pinkerton spoke of little fixable things before heading the Southern California, he said the team had struggled at times to play a complete game while being sharp in three facets. Against Sacramento State, momentary defensive lapses cost the Cyclones. 

Lea Nelson scored Iowa State first run after pinch running for Natalie Wallet in the bottom of the third. wallet singled to second base, then Nelson used crafty base-running skills to position herself on third.

Nelson stole second and advanced to third on a sac fly. Nelson was brought home on a wild pitch. 

Iowa State didn’t score again until the seventh inning. In that frame, Milaysia Ochoa and Alesia Ranches started with a pair of singles. Wallet recored Iowa State only RBI of the game when she singled to score Ochoa.

When Ranches was called out at home to end the game, Iowa State had left six runners on base. 

Key games ahead

Iowa State has just one more weekend tournament before the season format will change. Iowa State returns to California for five games at the Mizuno Classic beginning Thursday. 

Then, Iowa State plays a three game series with the BYU Cougars. It will be the first games for Iowa State not played in a tournament setting. The matchups will take place at the Cougars’ home diamond in Provo, Utah. 

The three game series will serve as a transition into the format of the Big 12 schedule. After facing BYU Iowa State will travel to Austin, Texas to play Texas.