SDSU & UNI Midweek Primer

Who: Iowa State (23-19, 11-7 Big 12) vs. South Dakota State (24-20, 9-3 Summit)

Where: Cyclone Softball Complex – Ames, Iowa

When: April 21 – 1 & 4 pm

Who: Iowa State (23-19, 11-7 Big 12) at UNI (26-15, 14-7 MVC)

Where: Robinson-Dresser Sports Complex – Cedar Falls, Iowa

When: April 22 – 5 pm

Leading Off
Iowa State will look to keep its unblemished midweek record intact this coming week, as the Cyclones will play South Dakota State twice on Monday before traveling to Cedar Falls to take on UNI on Tuesday.

Iowa State enters the week having won three of its four outings last week, defeating Iowa in the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series and taking a weekend series over Kansas, 2-1. The Cyclones are getting hot at the right time, as ISU has won 12 of its last 17 contests.

South Dakota State, like Iowa State, has been heating up as late as the Jackrabbits have won nine of their last 12 games. SDSU is coming off a weekend sweep of North Dakota State – a team that downed ISU in extra innings in Oxford back in March.

Not to be outdone, UNI has been winning at a solid clip too as the Panthers are 15-7 in their last 22 outings which included a win at Illinois. The Panthers are currently in third place in the Missouri Valley and are coming off a weekend where they took two of three over top-ranked Southern Illinois.

Monday Promotions

Strikeout Cancer / Pink Out

As a reminder, admission to the Cyclone Sports Complex is free.

From the Notes:

The Cyclones spent the first seven weeks of the season away from the Cyclone Softball Complex, playing 28 straight games on the road or at a neutral site.
- March 28 was the latest season-opener since 2022. That squad didn't play at home until April 6.
Iowa State went 1-2 in its first Big 12 series, taking the opening game against Houston. For ISU, it was the program's first Big 12-opening win since 2006.
Iowa State earned its first road Big 12 sweep since 2019 in Orlando, defeating UCF in three straight games. The road series sweep also happened to be the team's first since 2021.
Iowa State snapped a seven-game skid to Arizona State in its third conference series, besting the Sun Devils for the first time since 1998, earning a second-straight Big 12 series win.
- For the Cyclones, it was their first back-to-back Big 12 series victory since 2023, when it downed Baylor and Kansas to close the season.
ISU took game one of the conference series against BYU, marking four straight series with a series-opening win.
The Cyclones earned their first road series win over a ranked opponent at No. 17 Oklahoma State, taking the series 2-1.
- The rubber match win over the Cowgirls gave ISU its ninth conference win of the season – setting a new program single-season high.
- The win also gave ISU its third conference series win of the season – the most in a single season in school history.
Iowa State ran its winning streak over in-state foe Iowa to five on April 15, beating the Hawkeyes 9-5. The 14 combined runs were the most in a Cy-Hawk game since 2012.
ISU took two of three games on Easter weekend to claim its fourth conference series win of the season.
After having 11 seniors leave, ISU only has two on this year's roster. Over half of the team, 14, are underclassmen.
- Of Iowa State's most-used lineup this season, just one position player started over 50 percent of last year's games (Angelina Allen).
- Only four players are over the age of 21.
Freshman pitcher Sami Potvin hurled a five-inning perfect game against Grambling State, striking out a career-high nine batters.

Leading the Cyclones
The Cyclone offense is led by a pair of freshmen in Jessie Clemons and Sereniti Trice. Clemons leads the team in batting average (.391), hits (54) and doubles (12), while Trice leads the squad in runs scored (39) and stolen bases (14).

Rounding out ISU's offensive attack are returning All-American Angelina Allen, who has the most walks on the team (22), Sydney Malott, who leads the team in home runs (10) and is tied for the team lead in RBI (31) with Reagan Bartholomew, and Tatum Johnson, who leads the team in OPS with a 1.055.

In the circle, five Cyclones have seen action. Lauren Schurman leads the way with a team-low ERA of 3.32. Schurman has hurled 107.2 innings, a team-high, and owns 55 punchouts, also a team-high. Jaiden Ralston has eight starts in 32 appearances with 42 strikeouts. Freshmen Abby Huhn and Sami Potvin have also seen time, as each has multiple wins on the year.

Overall, the Cyclones are hitting .286 and have produced 202 runs on 320 hits. The team has 104 extra-base hits with 184 RBI, while drawing 111 walks. ISU holds a collective 4.74 ERA and has allowed 348 hits in 268.2 innings of work.

Opponent Outlook: SDSU
Overall, the Jackrabbits are hitting .303 and have produced 244 runs on 349 hits. The team has 118 extra-base hits with 232 RBI, while drawing 175 walks. SDSU holds a collective 4.21 ERA and has allowed 325 hits in 281.0 innings of work.

Iowa State leads the all-time series against the Jackrabbits, holding a 17-2 advantage. The Cyclones have won 11 of the last 12 meetings with SDSU as the two teams will be meeting for the first time since 2023. ISU is 11-1 vs. South Dakota State in Ames.

Opponent Outlook: UNI
Overall, the Panthers are hitting .287 and have produced 262 runs on 325 hits. The team has 120 extra-base hits with 245 RBI, while drawing 197 walks. UNI holds a collective 4.30 ERA and has allowed 371 hits in 278.2 innings of work.

Iowa State leads the all-time series against the Panthers, holding a 47-41-1 advantage. The Cyclones have taken five of the last six meetings, including the last three in Cedar Falls. Overall, ISU is 19-23 when playing UNI on the road.

On Deck
Following three early midweek games, Iowa State will return to conference action this coming weekend as it makes its final Big 12 road trip to Salt Lake City to take on the Utes. The Cyclones will meet Utah in a three-game set with game one taking place on April 25 and starting at 6 pm CT. All games will be streamed live on ESPN+.

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Players Mentioned

Angelina Allen

Reagan Bartholomew

Jessie Clemons

Abby Huhn

Tatum Johnson

Sydney Malott

Sami Potvin

Jaiden Ralston

Lauren Schurman

Sereniti Trice

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