Cyclones' Rally Falls Short Against No. 22 Sooners

AMES, Iowa - No. 22 Oklahoma scored three insurance runs in the top of the seventh and held off an Iowa State rally in its half of the inning to defeat the Cyclones, 8-6, and earn a Big 12 series split on Sunday at the Southwest Athletic Complex.

Oklahoma (29-18-1, 5-10 Big 12) was clinging to a 5-4 lead when Traci Dickenson stepped to the plate in the seventh and delivered a three-run homer that proved to be the difference in the game.

Iowa State (20-22, 4-8 Big 12) fell short despite a two-run seventh that cut the gap to 8-6 and forced Oklahoma pitcher D.J. Mathis to enter the game with two outs in the inning.

Katie Reichling reached on an error to start the rally and advanced to second on a hard hit single by Jessica Quade. Reichling moved to third on a fly ball by Jennifer Bigbee and scored on a wild pitch for the first run of the inning. Pinch runner Lanae Davis came across for the second run on a double by Stephanie Mosley, cutting the lead to 8-6. Mathis then entered and got the final out to pick up her first save of the season.

The high scoring affair, which featured 15 Oklahoma hits and 11 Cyclone hits, started in the top of the first on a RBI single by Mariee Mena. Ashley Killeen gave Iowa State its first lead of the game with her two-run single in the bottom of the first. With the two runs batted in, Killeen moved into sole possession of third on the all-time list with 75 RBI. The junior has 35 RBI on the season, ranking third on the single-season list, just three behind the school record of 38, which was set by Lisa Leinen in 1989.

A three-run homer in the top of the second by Amber Spaulding gave the lead back to the visiting Sooners.

Iowa State scored another run in the fourth on a double by Fallon Johnson but Oklahoma again answered with a run of its own in the fifth.

Mosley scored in the sixth on an infield single by Kristy Olsen to cut the lead to 5-4 but the Dickenson homer in the seventh proved too much to overcome as the Cyclones dropped the senior day game.

Mosley led Iowa State with a career-high three hits while three other Cyclones recorded two hits each. Olsen, Quade and Killeen each had two hits in the losing effort.

Morgan Hudsonpillar (6-4) picked up the win in relief for Oklahoma while Alyssa Ransom (10-12) was handed her first loss in five games.

The Cyclones will close out the home portion of the schedule when they host South Dakota State and Missouri in a pair of doubleheaders on Tuesday and Wednesday. First pitch for both days is slated for 2 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Jennifer Bigbee

Lanae Davis

Fallon Johnson

Ashley Killeen

Stephanie Mosley

Kristy Olsen

Jessica Quade

Alyssa Ransom

Katie Reichling

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