Gomez, McFarland Help Cyclones Sweep South Dakota

AMES, Iowa - The Iowa State softball team (17-24, 0-6 Big 12) picked up a pair of victories on Tuesday over South Dakota (13-29, 7-2 Summit League) at the Cyclone Sports Complex. The Cyclone offense lit up the scoreboard all day, winning the first game 10-7, before an 8-2 victory in the second game of the doubleheader.

Senior Brittany Gomez had a remarkable performance, going 6-of-9 at the plate on the day with six RBI, two triples and a double, as well as scoring three runs. On her fifth hit of the day, Gomez moved into rarified air. With 280 hits as a Cyclone, the senior moved into the Big 12's all-time top-five for hits in a career.

Kelsey McFarland also came up huge for the Cyclones, going 3-of-4 with two home runs and five RBIs in the second game of the day. It was the first multi-home run performance of the sophomore's career, while the five RBIs were also her highest marks in the Cardinal and Gold.

Game 1: Iowa State 10, South Dakota 7
The Cyclones came out and put their stamp on the game in the early going, scoring a pair of runs in the bottom of first. Singles from Gomez and Cathlin Bingham to lead things off were a great start, followed by both runners advancing on a USD wild pitch. After Aly Cappaert reached on a fielder's choice, and Gomez was called out on a play at the plate, McFarland stepped to the plate. The sophomore brought in the first run on the day on a sacrifice fly to score Bingham. Cappaert later scored after Kirsten Caudle reached on an error, giving Iowa State a 2-0 lead.

Bats on both sides then went quite, as the second, third and fourth innings were scoreless behind strong play from Sanders and the Cyclone defense. The Coyote offense would eventually break through in a big way in the top of the fifth inning. With the bases loaded and two outs, Mandi Moore entered to pitch for Sanders. USD brought one runner in via a hit by pitch, when Sydney Hancock came up to bat. Hancock gave South Dakota its first lead of the day with one swing of the bat on a grand slam to right-center. USD led 5-2 through four and a half innings.

Iowa State proved they were up for the challenge in the home half of the inning, however. Caudle got the scoring started on an RBI single to left-center to score McFarland. Hope Scheffert then followed suit in her first start of the season with an RBI single of her own up the middle, cutting the lead to 5-4.

With the bases loaded and two outs, Gomez smacked a two-RBI single to regain the Cyclone lead. Iowa State brought two additional runs in when Bingham reached on an error and Cappaert drove an RBI single up the middle, giving the Cyclones an 8-5 advantage.

After South Dakota cut the lead to 8-7 in the ensuing inning, Gomez came up to bat with a pair of runners on base. She smacked a triple to left field for a pair of RBIs, giving the Cyclones what would prove to be the decisive 10-7 lead.

Game 2: Iowa State 8, South Dakota 2
The Iowa State offense once again came out firing in the second game of the day. Bingham walked, followed by a Cappaert single up the middle to put a pair of Cyclone runners aboard. McFarland then crushed a three-run shot over the fence in right field for her first home run of the day, and the Cyclones led 3-0 after one.

ISU kept the pressure on in the following inning. Scheffert walked and Sally Woolpert doubled down the left field line to put runners in scoring position. Gomez then looped another double down the line to bring both Cyclones into score and extend the ISU lead. Later in the inning, McFarland's RBI single to shortstop allowed the speedy Gomez to race home for a 6-0 Iowa State advantage.

The two teams traded runs in the third and fourth inning, with the ISU run coming once again courtesy of Gomez, who was brought home by Cappaert on an RBI single to left field. The Cyclone score of the day came when McFarland went yard once again with a lead-off home run to open the sixth inning, giving Iowa State its 8-2 victory.

Starter Emma Hylen was tremendous in the outing, going all seven innings to pick up the win. The freshman gave up just two runs on nine hits while striking out four batters.

On Deck
Iowa State travels to Lubbock, Texas this weekend for a three-game Big 12 series against Texas Tech. The series will start Friday, April 22 at 6 p.m. CT.

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Players Mentioned

Cathlin Bingham

Aly Cappaert

Kirsten Caudle

Brittany Gomez

Emma Hylen

Kelsey McFarland

Mandi Moore

Hope Scheffert

Sally Woolpert

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