Upcoming Event: Softball versus DMACC on September 17, 2025 at 4 p.m.
4 p.m.
Softball
DMACC
Iowa State University Athletics
Saturday, May 25
Fort Collins, Colo.
11:00 AM
Iowa State University
36-24
7
vs
2
Liberty
40-22
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Liberty
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
2
8
2
Iowa State
5
0
0
2
0
0
X
7
8
5
Nearad's Late-Game Heroics Send ISU To NISC Finals
05.25.2019 | Softball
FORT COLLINS, Colo. - The Iowa State softball team (37-24) advanced to Sunday's NISC Championship Round finals by defeating Liberty (40-22), 7-2, and Loyola Marymount (40-21), 5-2, to stay alive in the tournament. The Cyclones will take on UT Arlington at 1 p.m. CT at TC Colorado Field. An ISU win would force a decisive championship game at 4 p.m. CT.
Senior Taylor Nearad came through with some late game heroics to keep Iowa State's season alive vs. LMU. Nearad hit a bases-clearing, three-RBI double in the top of the seventh inning with the Cyclones down to their final out, propelling ISU past the Lions.
Iowa State 7, Liberty 2
The Lady Flames struck first in Saturday morning's elimination game, taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning on a Sarah Robertson RBI double. However, it was all Cyclones from that point forward.
Sami Williams and Nearad hit back-to-back solo home runs to lead off the home half of the first inning, giving Iowa State a lead it would not surrender. It marked the first time all season that Liberty had surrendered multiple home runs a game.
Freshman Mikayla Ramos kept the offense rolling with a two-RBI single, plating two more runs to extend the Cyclone advantage to 4-1. Logan Schaben would later put down a sacrifice bunt to score Ramos and put Iowa State ahead 5-1 through one inning of play.
The offense was back at it in the fourth, sparked by a lead-off triple from Skyler Ramos. Williams then came to the plate and roped an RBI double into center field, scoring Ramos from third. The double was Williams' 80th base hit of the 2019 campaign, breaking the single-season school record of 79 hits set by Brittany Gomez in 2015.
Nearad would later collect a double on a ground out, scoring Williams to put the Cyclones ahead 7-1. Liberty plated one run in the top of the seventh, but it would not be enough as Iowa State advanced to continue their postseason journey.
Starting pitcher Savannah Sanders was phenomenal throughout, holding Liberty scoreless for five straight innings as the Cyclones took control. Sanders put in 6.0 innings of work to pick up the win, allowing just two earned runs on the day.
Iowa State 5, Loyola Marymount 2
Game two was a thriller for the Cyclone faithful at TC Colorado Field thanks to a seventh-inning rally and one of ISU's biggest hits of the season courtesy of Nearad. With the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the seventh inning and the Cyclones trailing 2-1, Nearad crushed a double to center field, clearing the bases to save Iowa State's season and NISC Championship hopes.
The Cyclones once again got off to the start they were looking for, as Williams roped a lead-off double down the right field line and would later score on a ground ball from Talyn Lewis to give Iowa State a 1-0 lead.
LMU tied the game with a solo home run by Megan Martin in the bottom of the third, and then took their first lead of the game on an RBI single by Maddison Flores in the fifth inning.
The Cyclone offense was held in check until Nearad's go-ahead double flipped the script, sending Iowa State to Championship Sunday.
Sanders was excellent once again in her second start of the day, surrendering just two runs on four hits with two strikeouts in 4.2 innings of work. Emma Hylen would enter in relief, allowing just one hit over the final 2.1 innings as Iowa State surged late.
On Deck
The Cyclones will take on UT Arlington on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT at TC Colorado Field. Iowa State will need to defeat the Mavericks twice to take home the NISC Crown. An ISU win would force a decisive championship game at 4 p.m. CT. All of Sunday's action will be streamed live on YouTube here.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Sanders, Savannah (7-9)
L: CASSADY, Chase (15-4)
Batting:
2B: BISHOP, Amber 1 ; ROBERTSON, Sarah 1
RBI: AMADER, Jaclyn 1 ; ROBERTSON, Sarah 1
Base Running:
RUNS: BISHOP, Amber 2
Batting:
2B: Williams, Sami 1
3B: Ramos, Skyler 1
HR: Williams, Sami 1 ; Nearad, Taylor 1
RBI: Williams, Sami 2 ; Nearad, Taylor 2 ; Ramos, Mikayla 2 ; Schaben, Logan 1
SH: Woolpert, Sally 1 ; Schaben, Logan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Williams, Sami 2 ; Nearad, Taylor 1 ; Lewis, Talyn 1 ; Stites, Sydney 1 ; Ramos, Mikayla 1 ; Ramos, Skyler 1
SB: Williams, Sami 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
2
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
IF/OF
/ Softball
RHP
/ SoftballIF
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballC
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
IF
/ SoftballIF
/ SoftballSB Replay 2025 B12 Semifinal ISU vs Arizona
Monday, May 12
SB Replay 2025 B12 Quarterfinal ISU vs BYU
Monday, May 12
SB Highlights vs. BYU (Big 12 Tournament Quarterfinals)
Friday, May 09
SB Replay Baylor at ISU 2025 Gm3
Tuesday, May 06
