Iowa State To Face South Dakota, Drake In Midweek Action

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CYCLONE NOTEBOOK
1. The Iowa State softball team (18-15, 1-5 Big 12) is set for a pair of mid-week non-conference contests at the Cyclone Sports Complex. The Cyclones open the week vs. South Dakota on Tuesday at 4 p.m., followed by a contest vs. in-state foe Drake on Wednesday at 4 p.m. Both games will be broadcast on Cyclones.tv, and admission is free of charge.

2. The Cyclones notched their first conference win of the season on March 30, taking down No. 15 Texas Tech, 6-5. It was the program's first victory over a top-15 ranked opponent since March 8, 2013 (vs. No. 8 Oregon). It was also the second win over a nationally ranked opponent in the Jamie Pinkerton era at Iowa State.

3. Junior Sami Williams was incredible over the weekend, hitting .556 with three home runs and three walks in three games against the Red Raiders. She went 3-for-3 at the plate with two homers and a double in the Cyclones' 6-5 win over TTU. She also tallied three RBI on the weekend to break into ISU's top-10 for career runs batted in (No. 10 - 79).

4. Williams has established herself among the nation's premier offensive weapons. She is one of just six players in the country with at least a .400 batting avg., 12 doubles and eight home runs on the season. Williams is just one of three players (Kindra Hackbarth - Arizona State, Kayla Konwent - Wisconsin) from a Power 5 conference with such numbers.

5. Freshman Mikayla Ramos has emerged in Big 12 play as a steady contributor in Pinkerton's lineup. Ramos, primarily a designated offensive player, went 5-of-8 at the plate over the weekend with a double, two RBI and scored the game-winning run in game two of the series. Ramos currently touts the fourth-best batting average on the team at .281.

6. The Cyclones are in the midst of a nearly-unprecedented home stand right now, as 12 of 13 games during the stretch are slated to be played at the Cyclone Sports Complex. It is just the second time in program history (1999) that 12 of 13 games have been at home. Prior to this stretch, just seven of ISU's 86 contests during the Jamie Pinkerton era had been played at home.

7. Williams continues to climb the ISU career record charts during her junior campaign. The native of Laguna Niguel, Calif., is already No. 2 on Iowa State's all-time list in batting average (.382), No. 1 in doubles (46), No. 4 in home runs (28) and No. 10 in RBIs (79). Williams currently ranks No. 1 in the Big 12 in doubles per game at .36. She's also on pace for the third-best single-season batting average in program history (.404).

8. Williams had a career-long 16-game hitting streak ended in game one of the Texas series, just two shy of tying the Iowa State all-time record of 18 set by Aly Cappaert in 2015. Over the 16-game streak, Williams hit .544 with eight doubles, two triples, four home runs and 14 RBI in the lead-off spot. She also had a .965 slugging percentage and four stolen bases over that same period.

9. Senior hurler Emma Hylen also placed her name atop the ISU record books, picking up her ISU record-breaking eighth career save on March 16 vs. Harvard. It was the cherry on top of a dominant weekend for Hylen at the Easton Invitational in Fullerton, Calif. Hylen went 3-0 with a save and a 0.36 ERA in four appearances at the tournament. The native of Roseville, Minn., allowed just one earned run in 19.0 innings of action.

10. Bosworth is known for being among the Big 12's top defensive catchers, but she has turned in a career-best year so far at the plate. The senior from Manvel, Texas has the second-best slugging percentage on the team at .527 and is hitting .312 with 19 RBI to rank second on the team. Bosworth had the second multi-home run game of her career, going yard twice to lead Iowa State to a 7-5 win over Harvard at the Easton Invitational.

11. The Cyclone defense has shown marked improvement in year two under Pinkerton and assistant coach Courtney Martinez. ISU has already turned a conference-leading 17 double plays in 33 games after turning 17 all of last season.

COMPLETE GAME NOTES
For complete game notes, click here (PDF).

Iowa State To Face South Dakota, Drake In Midweek Action

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Players Mentioned

Aly Cappaert

Emma Hylen

Mikayla Ramos

Sami Williams

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Iowa State To Face South Dakota, Drake In Midweek Action

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Aly Cappaert

Emma Hylen

Mikayla Ramos

Sami Williams

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