Iowa State at No. 23 Baylor Primer

Who: Iowa State (11-16, 2-4 Big 12) at No. 23 Baylor (17-11, 1-8 Big 12)

Where: Getterman Stadium – Waco, Texas

When: March 28-30 – 6:30, 2 & 12 p.m.

Leading Off
Iowa State will return to the diamond for the first time in over a week, as last weekend's planned Big 12 series against Texas Tech was canceled due to inclement weather in Ames.

The Cyclones return to action after dropping their second straight midweek contest last Wednesday, falling to the Kansas City Roos, 3-7. Ashley Minor had a big game for the Clones, driving in three runs on three hits as well as launching her fourth homer of the year but it wasn't enough.

The Bears have lost six of their last seven and have just one win in conference play. Last weekend, Baylor went to Norman to face off with top-ranked Oklahoma and dropped all three contests to the Sooners, being outscored by 19 runs.

Baylor and Iowa State have just one common opponent on the season in Oklahoma. Both teams faced the Sooners in a three-game series in Norman and each suffered the same result – a three-game sweep.

Quick Hits:

Iowa State has recorded double-digit runs in a game four times so far this season. It had only two such games in 2023.
The Cyclones have been a bit feast or famine early in the season, as the team averages 8.5 runs scored a game in wins but just 2.4 runs in losses.
Junior outfielder Angelina Allen has been phenomenal to start the season. She's 23rd in the country in hits (44) which is tops in the Big 12. Her 10 doubles are second in the conference and rank her 37th nationally.
- Allen has 81 total bases on the season, the fourth most in the Big 12. Allen has the second-highest batting average in the conference (.473) and ranks eleventh nationally.
- Allen was awarded the Big 12 Player of the Week award on March 5, making her the first Cyclone to earn the award since Sami Williams in 2021.
Milaysia Ochoa broke the program record for most HBP at Oklahoma in the Big 12 opening weekend, being struck by her 29th pitch.
Alesia Ranches is tied for the fifth-most doubles in the league with eight.
Senior Saya Swain recorded her seventh career save in Vegas earlier this season. She needs two more to break the all-time program record.

Leading the Cyclones
The aforementioned Allen leads the Cyclones in most every offensive category outside of runs, triples and walks drawn. Ochoa, a fellow team captain, compliments Allen nicely at the top of the order. From the leadoff spot, Milaysia is hitting .345 with 18 walks drawn and four HBP – giving her an OBP of .477. Both Allen and Ochoa lead the team in on-base percentage from the first two spots in the batting order.

Minor, Alesia Ranches, Tiana Poole and Carli Spelhaug join Ochoa and Allen as Cyclones who have double digit RBI on the year. Olivia Wardlow has come on in her junior year, hitting .296 out of the nine-hole and turning the lineup over for the Cyclones.

All six pitchers on staff have taken the circle this season, with freshman Lauren Schurman leading the way with a team-high 41.2 innings pitched. Senior Karlie Charles has thrown 34.2 innings while Aziza Rodriguez have hurled 31. Jaiden Ralston leads the team in strikeouts with 26, while Schurman is right behind with 25 and senior Saya Swain has 24.

Opponent Outlook
Baylor is led on offense by junior infielder Shaylon Govan. Govan, a 2023 All-Big 12 First Teamer is hitting at a team-high .464 clip with a team-best 32 hits. Her 14 RBI also lead the team and she's drawn a whopping 24 walks. Emily Hott chips in 30 hits with a team-high 51 total bases.

Govan has the conference's highest on- base percentage (.602) and walks drawn (24). BU catcher Sydney Collazos has caught nine runners stealing, the most of any catcher this season.

Both RyLee Crandall and Aliyah Binford lead the team in innings pitched as both are over 62 innings. Crandall holds a 2.22 ERA with five complete games and 58 strikeouts. Binford leads the squad with 77 punchouts and has a 3.37 ERA. Dariana Orme and Kaci West also have ERAs in the twos, while Lexie Warncke totes a 3.23 ERA across 13 innings.

Baylor hits at a .282 average as a team, holds opponents to 3.1 runs per game and fields at a .969 clip.

Series History
The Cyclones and Bears have met squared off 68 times, with BU holding the all-time series advantage. The two squads four times last season, with the Cyclones taking 3-of-4 games against Baylor. Under Coach Pinkerton, Iowa State is 11-7 against Baylor.

On Deck
After its road trip to Waco, Iowa State will return to Ames for the beginning of a nine-game homestand. The Cyclones will begin its two and a half week homestand with UNI on April 2 in a Tuesday-night matchup. Tuesday's game against UNI is scheduled to start at 4 p.m.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Angelina Allen

Karlie Charles

Ashley Minor

Milaysia Ochoa

Tiana Poole

Jaiden Ralston

Alesia Ranches

Aziza Rodriguez

Lauren Schurman

Carli Spelhaug

Saya Swain

Olivia Wardlow

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics