AMES, Iowa – Iowa State (21-18, 9-6 Big 12) ran its winning streak over in-state foe Iowa (25-16, 7-6 Big Ten) to five on Tuesday, as the Cyclones used a pair of big innings to handle the Hawkeyes, winning 9-5.

After just one run was scored in the first three frames, the game broke open in the fourth inning. Both sides would go on to plate a combined 13 runs in the final 3.5 innings. The 14 combined runs are the most in a Cy-Hawk game since 2012, as Iowa State surpassed its 2024 win total on the day.

Though the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series has already been secured for the Cyclones, today’s win was worth one point, pushing the tally to 14-10 in favor of ISU. The last remaining contest as part of the 2024-25 Series will be played on April 29 in Iowa City and will be worth one point.

The Cyclones had a balanced attack at the plate against Iowa, as four different players – Sereniti Trice, Reagan Bartholomew, Karlee Ford and Isabelle Nosan – had two hits on the day. Bartholomew led all players with three RBI, marking her team-leading seventh multi-RBI game of the season. Ford and Nosan each notched a pair of RBI, while Angelina Allen had two bases on balls.

Lauren Schurman (2) got the start in the circle for ISU, pitching 1.2 innings before being pulled for Abby Huhn. Huhn hurled just a third of a frame before Jaiden Ralston came in. Ralston (7-6) would handle two innings, the third and the fourth, before Schurman would re-enter to close things out. With the win, Ralston now has a single season high for wins.

Iowa scattered seven hits across six batters, with Desiree Rivera being the only Hawkeye to earn more than one base knock on the day. Jena Young drew a pair of walks, while Tory Bennett had a team-best two RBI. Talia Tretton (7-8) got the nod in the circle, as the freshman tossed 3.2 innings where she allowed six runs on seven hits.

Things got off to a slow start at the Cyclone Softball Complex, as each side stranded a runner through one inning. Schurman had struck out three batters through her first five faced but was pulled for Abby Huhn in the second. Devin Simon would collect Iowa’s first hit of the game off Huhn, a homer, to put the Hawkeyes on top in the second, 1-0.

ISU would go three-up, three-down in the bottom of the second before each side stranded a runner in the third frame.

The Cyclone offense exploded in the fourth, plating six runs to take a 6-1 lead. An Allen walk would lead off the frame. A Sydney Malott double would then put a pair of Cyclones in scoring position. A second-straight double, this time courtesy of Reagan Bartholomew, would plate ISU’s first two runs of the game to put the Cyclones on top. Karlee Ford then stepped into the plate and would knock a single into left center before advancing on the throw to put two more runners in scoring position. With two outs, Nosan knocked a ball all the way to the left center wall, earning a double of her own and plating two more runs. A bases-loaded walk from Allen and a Clemons infield single would account for ISU’s last two runs.

The Hawkeyes wasted little time responding, as they plated four runs of the own in the top of the fifth to trim the lead to one. Three consecutive free passes would load the bases with no outs to start things off. Back-to-back singles would score three runs for Iowa before a sac fly capped the scoring off. Iowa took full advantage of the free passes, scoring its four runs off just three hits.

ISU stranded a pair in the bottom of the fifth but tallied three precious insurance runs in the sixth. With two on and two outs, Bartholomew collected her third RBI of the day by singling down the left line and advancing to second on the throw to put a pair in scoring position. One batter later, Ford clobbered a ball into left field over the fielder’s head to plate both runners and make it 9-5.

In the seventh, Iowa secured a leadoff single, but that was it as a fielder’s choice, fly-out and ground-out ended the Hawkeyes’ hopes as ISU took game one of the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series.

Iowa State: N/A

Iowa: Devin Simon (2)

WP – Jaiden Ralston (7-6): 2.0 IP, 1 hit, 2 runs, 1 walk, 1 strikeout

SV – Lauren Schurman (2): 4.2 IP, 5 hits, 2 runs, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts

LP – Talia Tretton (7-8): 3.2 IP, 7 hits, 6 runs, 2 walks, 0 strikeouts

Iowa State will be back in action this weekend when they welcome Kansas to the Cyclone Softball Complex for its sixth conference series of the season. With it being Easter weekend, game one will take place on Thursday and is set to begin at 4 pm. As always, all weekend action will be streamed live on ESPN+.