Seventh Inning Rally Propels Iowa State to 5-4 Victory over Drake

DES MOINES, Iowa ? Trailing 4-1, the Iowa State softball team rallied to score four runs with two outs in the top of the seventh to post a 5-4 comeback win over Drake at the Bulldogs' Buel Field on Wednesday. With the victory, ISU improves its record to 14-26 on the season. The triumph extends the Cyclones' winning streak to five straight over Drake and gives Iowa State a 59-16 record in the all-time series with the Bulldogs.

Sophomore Katie Reichling began the Cyclone rally with a one-out single to center. ISU head coach Ruth Crowe then inserted freshman Beth Tharp to pinch hit for freshman Paige Jensen. Tharp promptly singled to center, moving junior Kristen Karanzias, into pinch run for Reichling, down to second. Crowe again went to her bench, bringing freshman Kristy Olsen into pinch run for Tharp. Following a foul out by senior Misty Kimura, pinch hitter Lindsey Black drew a walk to load the bases. In the next at bat, the third pinch hitter of the inning, sophomore Jennifer Bigbee, drove in a run when she was hit by a pitch from Bulldog hurler Jessica Hicks, forcing home Karanzias from third. Sophomore Fallon Johnson then walked to plate Olsen and continue the bases loaded situation for the Cyclones and close the gap to 4-3. Senior Kim Rodgers came to plate and took advantage of the situation with a 2 RBI double to score Bigbee and senior Diana Reuter, who entered the contest to pinch run for Black, completing the 5-4 comeback.

In the Drake half of the inning, sophomore pitcher Alyssa Ransom retired the side in order to earn the win. Ransom allowed two hits and struck out three in four scoreless innings of work to improve her record to 8-15 on the season.

Iowa State cracked the scoring column first with a run in the first inning on an RBI single by Reichling. Drake answered in the bottom half of the inning with a run of its own to tie the game at 1-1 before adding a run in the third and two more in the fourth to assume a 4-1 advantage.

“It was definitely the battle of the uglies today,” head coach Ruth Crowe said. “It was definitely not a pretty game, but our kids found a way to get it done. I give them a lot of credit. I thought our kids off the bench provided a huge spark for us. I thought Beth (Tharp) had a key base hit for us and Kim's (Rodgers) double was big. She showed a lot of heart with that hit because she struggled earlier in the game. Our pitchers both threw a good game as well.”

The Cyclones return home to the Southwest Athletic Complex on Thursday to host Western Illinois. Last year, the Westerwinds defeated ISU, 5-4, in Macomb, Ill. Iowa State won the last meeting in Ames in 2003 by the count of 6-5. The game is scheduled for a 4 p.m. start.