Iowa State falls in Big 12 Tournament opener

Iowa State junior Brianna Weilbacher pitches in the fourth inning. 

Trevor Holbrook

Iowa State softball had its six-game winning streak snapped Friday afternoon.

The Cyclones traveled to Oklahoma City to battle Oklahoma State in their first Big 12 Tournament game. The Cowgirls strong hitting performance led to a 10-0 defeat in five innings for Iowa State.

Sophomore pitcher Emma Hylen received the postseason start for the Cyclones. Hylen was coming off two dominant performances against Kansas, only allowing two runs in 14 innings of work.

Today was a different story, as Oklahoma State wasted no time jumping on Hylen. Hylen gave up three runs in the first inning.

The second inning was similar to the first, leading to another three runs for the Cowgirls. Meanwhile, the Cyclone bats were asleep, going without a hit until the fourth inning.

In the third inning, Iowa State tried mixing it up with junior pitcher Brianna Weilbacher. Weilbacher gave up a two-run homer, pushing Oklahoma State’s lead to eight.

The offense wasn’t helping out the struggling pitching. Iowa State was held to just two hits and contributed zero runs.

The Cowgirls tacked on two more runs, putting the Cyclones down 10-0. In the bottom of the fifth, Iowa State needed a run to avoid the ten-run rule. The Cyclones couldn’t put anything on the board and fell to the run rule after five innings.

Iowa State looks to avoid an 0-2 start at 5 p.m. against Baylor.