Upcoming Event: Softball versus DMACC on September 17, 2025 at 4 p.m.
4 p.m.
Softball
DMACC
Iowa State University Athletics
Thursday, April 3
Ames, Iowa
4 p.m.
Iowa State University
17-15, 7-3
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BYU
21-10, 5-5
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Iowa State
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Photo by: LUKE LU @KL6PHOTO
Ford’s Big Day Leads ISU to Fourth Big 12 Series-Opening Win
04.03.2025 | Softball
AMES, Iowa – Iowa State (17-15, 7-3 Big 12) pushed its conference series-opening win streak to four on Thursday, as it downed BYU (21-10, 5-5 Big 12) by a score of 5-3 in the weekend's game-one action.
With the win, ISU secured its seventh Big 12 victory of the season, tying the school record. The team sits one win away from tying the all-time conference win record of eight which was set back when the conference was called the Big 8.
Freshmen have been a strong theme with the Cyclones this season and today was no different, as first-year catcher Karlee Ford had herself an afternoon. The rookie from Goddard, Kansas, drove in a game-high three runs on two hits – including her first career home run. Teammate Tatum Johnson matched her with two hits of her own, while three other Cyclones recorded knocks.
Lauren Schurman (8-9) earned her second-straight win, as she allowed just one earned run in her five frames of action. Abby Huhn tossed two-thirds of an inning before Jaiden Ralston (2) came to close things down, earning a save for the second straight game.
For the Cougars, leadoff center fielder Lily Owens led the way with two hits and an RBI. The Preseason All-Big 12 Team member had a leadoff blast to start the game while four others collected hits. In the circle, Kate Dahle (7-3) took the loss, allowing five runs (3 earned) in her three innings of action but finished with six strikeouts.
How it Happened
The Cougars started things with a bang, flexing their offensive power immediately, as leadoff outfielder Lily Owens blasted her fifth homer of the season over the left field fence on the fifth pitch of the at-bat. A great play from Reagan Bartholomew, who returned from a three-week absence due to injury, would turn two and get the Cyclones out of the frame down just 1-0.
A leadoff single for the Cyclones was stranded as things turned to the second. The Cougars, like ISU, would strand one in the top of the second as the frame flipped to the bottom.
With the Cyclones up to bat in the second, Johnson led things off with a walk before the next two batters were retired via strikeout. Into the box stepped Karlee Ford, who cranked a two-strike ball over the left-center fence to secure her first collegiate homer and put ISU in front, 2-1.
The next nine batters for the Cougars would be retired, as the potent offense wouldn't get another hit until the sixth inning.
Before that though, the Cyclones added three runs to their tally in the bottom of the fourth to take a 5-1 lead. Three straight singles from the Cyclones would load the bases with no outs, forcing a Cougar pitching change. A Paige Zender sac fly and a BYU error would allow for two to come across, pushing ISU's lead to three. With a runner on third, Ford stepped back into the box and blooped a single into right to score one more and give Iowa State a four-run cushion.
A leadoff single and a follow-up error would put the first two batters in scoring position for BYU to start off the sixth. A pair of Cougar sac flies would score two, trimming the Cyclones lead to a pair. The next two BYU batters would notch two-out hits, a single and a double, putting two more runners in scoring position. Jaiden Ralston would enter the high-leverage situation and mow down the BYU's Maddi Udall-Woolley to end the threat.
ISU stranded a single in the sixth, but so did the Cougars in the seventh, as three flyouts would put an end to the BYU rally attempt and secure ISU's seventh conference win.
Thursday Notes
Home Runs
Iowa State: Karlee Ford (1)
BYU: Lily Owens (5)
WP – Lauren Schurman (8-9): 5.0 IP, 3 hits, 3 runs (1 earned), 1 walk, 2 strikeouts
SV – Jaiden Ralston (2): 1.1 IP, 1 hit, 0 runs, 0 walks, 1 strikeout
LP – Kate Dahle (7-3): 3.0 IP, 5 hits, 5 runs (3 earned), 1 walk, 6 strikeouts
On Deck
ISU will be back in action tomorrow, Friday April 4, when it looks to secure a series victory over BYU. The Cyclones and Cougars will square off at 4 pm and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Schurman, Lauren (8-9)
L: Dahle, Kate (7-3)
S: Ralston, Jaiden (2)
Batting:
2B: Kamoku, Keila 1
HR: Owens, Lily 1
RBI: Owens, Lily 1 ; Brittingham, Ilove'a 1 ; Milkowski, Lindy 1
SF: Brittingham, Ilove'a 1 ; Milkowski, Lindy 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Owens, Lily 2 ; Morrow, Hailey 1
Batting:
HR: Ford, Karlee 1
RBI: Zender, Paige 1 ; Ford, Karlee 3
SF: Zender, Paige 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Buss, Ireland 1 ; Johnson, Tatum 2 ; Bartholomew, Reagan 1 ; Ford, Karlee 1
SB: Ford, Karlee 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
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3
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RBI
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AB
3
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RBI
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AB
3
R
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H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
/ SoftballC
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
RHP
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RHP
/ Softball
INF
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