Cyclones to face Kansas in Regular Season Finale

AMES, Iowa – Winners of nine of its last 12 games, Iowa State will head to Lawrence, Kansas, to face off against the Jayhawks in each team's final action of the regular season. Seeding for the Big 12 Championship will be on the line as both KU and ISU are 4-11 and either team can finish between 4-7 in the final standings.

The Matchup: Iowa State (22-28, 4-11 Big 12) at Kansas (23-24, 4-11 Big 12)
Where: Arrocha Ballpark // Lawrence, Kansas
When: May 5 – 5 p.m. // May 6 – 2 p.m. // May 7 – 12 p.m.
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Live Stats: cyclones.com

Quick Hits

The Cyclones earned their first Big 12 series victory of the season this past weekend, taking two-of-three against No. 18 Baylor by earning a rubber match victory on Senior Day.
- Iowa State now has three top-25 wins this season and has played 14 ranked opponents.
Iowa State defeated in-state foe Iowa for the fourth straight time on April 26, punctuating the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series with a win and pushing the school to its largest margin of victory in series history (17-8).
- With Wednesday's win over Drake, Iowa State has defeated all three DI schools from the state of Iowa in the 2023 campaign.
The Cyclones have played 11 games in the past 15 days, including a trio of doubleheaders to help make up for earlier games that were canceled due to weather.
ISU defeated No. 3 Oklahoma State on April 16, tying the program record for the highest-ranked team ever defeated - ISU also took down No. 3 Texas in Austin in 2005.
- It is the second-straight season ISU downed a top 10-ranked OSU team. The Cyclone win gave OSU its first Big 12 loss.
ISU is up to 73 in the RPI and is one of four teams in the top 72 to have a losing record (Arizona State, Kansas & Georgia Tech).
Milaysia Ochoa tallied her 100th career RBI against Iowa, bringing four runs across the plate in her two-home run outing, while Mikayla Ramos earned her 150th RBI against Colorado State. Both are in the top 10 all-time in school history.
ISU's Saya Swain (8.8) ranks among the top 50 nationally in strikeouts per seven innings.
Coach Pinkerton earned a milestone victory, number 500, in the April 22 game one win over CSU. He is one of three active coaches leading three teams to the NCAA Tournament (ISU, Montana, Arkansas).
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 (.322) and Mikayla Ramos (.304) lead the team in batting average and are the only Cyclones with more than 40 hits on the season. Ochoa has a team-high 11 doubles and 12 home runs while also leading the team in RBI with 30. Carli Spelhaug has earned the most walks and has a team-high 12 stolen bases on the season. Spelhaug also has four triples, the second most in the Big 12.

ISU rotates four primary pitchers in the circle, as Karlie Charles (4-2) holds the lowest ERA on the team at a 3.03. Charles has walked just ten players this season, the fewest among Big 12 players. Saya Swain (5-8) has pitched the most innings, 90, of any member of the staff and leads the team in strikeouts, as she currently sits at 113. Freshman Jaiden Ralston and fifth-year senior Ellie Spelhaug round out the main pitching rotation for the Cyclones.

Series History

Kansas leads, 46-62
Last Meeting: 5/8/22 (W, 5-3)
Last Cyclone Win: 5/8/22 (W, 5-3)
Streak: W1
Trends: Iowa State is 8-2 against the Jayhawks in the teams' last ten matchups.
Iowa State and Kansas have been competing against each other since 1976 and have competed in over 100 games against each other.

On Deck
Iowa State will wait to discover its Big 12 seeding following this weekend's action around the league The next time the Cyclones will take the field will be May 11 in the Big 12 Tournament in Oklahoma City. Start time and opponent have yet to be determined.

-ISU-

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Players Mentioned

Karlie Charles

Milaysia Ochoa

Jaiden Ralston

Mikayla Ramos

Carli Spelhaug

Ellie Spelhaug

Saya Swain

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