The Cyclones capped off the Michele Smith Spring Break Tournament in style with an extra innings win against Rutgers. The ISU softball team finished the weekend 3-2 with a three game winning streak.

The Cyclones got off to a nightmarish start when ISU pitcher Brianna Weilbacher was rocked in the first inning. Stephanie Huang started the offense with a single to begin the game, and was brought in on a two-run homer by Jackie Bates to give the Scarlet Knights an early 2-0 lead. Weilbacher followed the homerun by hitting the next batter, who was driven in by a Rebecca Ellis RBI single extending the lead to 3-2.

Weilbacher was pulled after that and replaced by Stacy Roggentien, who kept the Scarlet Knights off the board for the rest of the inning.

The ISU offense responded quickly when Aly Cappaert was brought in on a Lexi Slater two-run homerun in the bottom of the first, cutting the ISU deficit to 3-2. The Cyclones came back to tie the game in the third, when Maddie Reese ripped an RBI single to centerfield to bring in Cappaert for the 3-3 tie.

The 3-3 tie would last until the sixth inning, when Rutgers’ first baseman Rebecca Hall launched a solo homerun to extend a 4-3 lead.

Iowa State showed some life and tied the game in the bottom of the seventh with a Cappaert RBI single that brought in Kaila Konz, forcing a 4-4 tie and extra innings.

The Cyclones began the extra innings on defense. Roggentien forced two quick outs and picked up her fifth strikeout of the game to end the inning.

Iowa State started the inning with Slater on second, per the International Extra Innings rule. The Cyclones dropped into a quick hole with two straight outs, setting the stage for freshman Nychole Antillon, who ripped the game winning RBI double, bringing Slater home for a 5-4 walk-off victory.

The Cyclones will attempt to continue their current winning streak on March 21, when they take on South Dakota in their first home games in more than a month.