Cyclones Take to Iowa City for Cy-Hawk Showdown

AMES, Iowa – In its penultimate non-conference game of the regular season, Iowa State will head to Iowa City to face off with the Iowa Hawkeyes as part of the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series. The Cyclones have won three straight over the Hawkeyes, and head coach Jamie Pinkerton is undefeated against Iowa. This will be the Cyclones' first trip to Iowa City since 2019.

The Matchup: Iowa State (18-27, 2-10 Big 12) vs. Iowa (28-20, 8-9 B1G)
Where: Bob Pearl Field // Iowa City, Iowa
When: April 26 // 5 p.m.
Watch: Big Ten Network
Live Stats: cyclones.com

Quick Hits

Iowa State has won five of its last seven outings, including a win over then-ranked No. 3 Oklahoma State in Stillwater.
Iowa State competed in three-straight doubleheaders last week, going 4-2 against the com-bination of Colorado State and SEMO.
Coach Pinkerton earned a milestone victory, number 500, in Saturday's game one win over CSU. He is one of three active coaches leading three teams to the NCAA Tournament (ISU, Montana, Arkansas).
Iowa State currently sits 91st in the RPI. The Cyclones are among four teams in the top 100 with a losing record.
Iowa State will look to win its fourth straight over the Hawkeyes. The Cyclones are 2-2 against teams from Iowa this season.
Head Coach Jamie Pinkerton notched his 150th win as ISU's head coach and 500th career victory as a head coach this past weekend with a win over Colorado State.
Ten of ISU's losses have come to top ten teams this season, No. 6 Arkansas, No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 9 Texas and No. 3 Okla. State.

Leading the Cyclones
Milaysia Ochoa (.319) and Mikayla Ramos (.294) lead the team in batting average and are the only Cyclones with more than 30 hits on the season. Ochoa has a team-high 11 doubles, nine home runs and 21 RBI. Carli Spelhaug has earned the most walks (23) and has a team-high 12 stolen bases on the season.

ISU rotates four primary pitchers in the circle, as Karlie Charles (4-2) holds the lowest ERA on the team with 2.86. Charles has walked just nine players this season, the fewest among Big 12 players. Saya Swain (5-8) has pitched the most innings, 79, of any member of the staff and leads the team in strikeouts, as she currently sits at 104. Freshman Jaiden Ralston and fifth-year senior Ellie Spelhaug round out the main pitching rotation for the Cyclones.

Series History
Iowa State leads, 43-36-2
Last Meeting: 4/26/22 (W, 5-4)
Last Cyclone Win: 4/26/22 (W, 5-4)
Streak: W3
Trends: Iowa State is 6-3-1 in the last ten matchups with the Hawkeyes.

ISU will return to Iowa City for the first time since 2019 where it defeated Iowa 2-0. The Cy-Hawk softball series took a brief two-year hiatus as COVID-19 forced 2020's season to be cut short, and the two teams did not meet in 2021.

As a head coach at Iowa State, Coach Pinkerton is undefeated against the Hawkeyes.

On Deck
Following the midweek showdown with the Hawkeyes, the Cyclones will return home to the Cyclone Sports Complex to host the Baylor Bears for their final home Big 12 matchup of the season. The series against Baylor begins on April 28 and runs through the 30th. Friday's game starts at four, Saturday's game at one and Sunday's game at noon. Each game will be streamed on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.

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Players Mentioned

Karlie Charles

Milaysia Ochoa

Jaiden Ralston

Mikayla Ramos

Carli Spelhaug

Ellie Spelhaug

Saya Swain

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