The Iowa State Cyclones fell to the Texas Longhorns 8-5 in its first home game of the season.

What went wrong in the first game at the Cyclone Sports Complex? Pitching. 

“We had the offense today, we just didn’t throw it well,” said head coach Jamie Pinkerton.

“Pitching’s carried us for most of the year and we just had an outing that hasn’t been reflective of our year but it came at a bad time and it cost us.”

The Cyclones used all three pitchers in the loss against the Longhorns.

Brianna Weilbacher started the game for the Cyclones. She was later replaced in the first inning with no outs. 

In the first inning, Weilbacher got herself into a jam early. She walked three straight batters to load the bases and then gave up a two-RBI double. The score was 2-0 Longhorns with two runners on and no outs.

“You can’t walk the bases loaded in the first inning,” Pinkerton said.

“You walk three in a row there’s a mental issue there, Bri wasn’t comfortable for some reason and fell behind,” Pinkerton said. “She just didn’t have a good outing.”

Savannah Sanders would come in to pitch for Weilbacher after she gave up the two runs. Sanders would pitch five innings and giving up three runs on six hits.

Weilbacher would reenter to pitch for Sanders in the top of the sixth inning. In the sixth inning, Weilbacher had two groundouts, one strikeout, and one walk.

In the top of the seventh inning, Weilbacher would continue to pitch for the Cyclones. She would walk the first batter, allow a sacrifice bunt to advance the runner, and give up a single. 

After, Weilbacher could only get one out and had runners on first and third, Emma Hylen would come in to pitch for the Cyclones.

“I think we beat ourselves more than anything with three passes and walks and just getting down in the count. I don’t think it was really Texas attacking us, it was more of us not getting our job done,” said junior right-handed pitcher Savannah Sanders.

Hylen would get the final two outs for the Cyclones but not without letting the Longhorns extend their lead. She would allow an RBI single, and a double. Hylen ended the pitching nightmare with a strikeout.

Nine walks and three pitching changes later, the Cyclones would fall to the Longhorns 8-5.

“As a staff, we gave up nine walks, and I think seven of them scored,” Pinkerton said.

In the first game of a three-game series, head coach Jamie Pinkerton was forced to use all three of his pitchers. With the offense rallying back and forth and cutting the lead to just one run his only option was to keep fighting.

With a double header coming up for the Cyclones less than 24 hours after their loss to the Longhorns, pitching will be a major question. 

“All three of them threw so two of the three will throw tomorrow, maybe all three,” Pinkerton said. 

Overall, the Cyclones did not see what they wanted to see from their pitching staff.

“We can do a better job as a pitching staff and that’s what we are going to do when we come out tomorrow,” Sanders said. 

The Cyclones will play a double header against the Longhorns starting at 12:30 p.m.