Cyclones Sweep Saturday Slate in Minneapolis

Saturday, February 21

Minneapolis, Minn.

11:30 a.m.

Iowa State

8-4

LIU

0-14

Iowa State

Long Island

Photo by: Iowa State Athletics

Cyclones Sweep Saturday Slate in Minneapolis

02.21.2026 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 G1 Box Score (.pdf)G2 Box Score (.pdf)

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Iowa State (9-4) ran its Gopher Indoor Classic record to 4-0 Saturday, downing LIU (0-14) and North Dakota State (7-6).

Iowa State dominated game one, blanking the Sharks 12-0, to earn the team's first shutout victory of the season. Jessie Clemons and Sydney Malott tied for a game-high with three hits each, while Ava Mullen (2-1) pitched three shutout innings. Clemons tallied six RBI in the contest, setting a new personal best.

The Cyclone offense struggled in game two but overcame a two-run deficit to defeat the Bison 6-5 in nine innings. Kasey Kane and Reagan Bartholomew shared the heroics, as Kane delivered the game-tying home run in the seventh before Bartholomew walked things off in the ninth.

Iowa State 12, LIU 0 (5 Inn.)
The Cyclones used a pair of five-run frames to run away from LIU, defeating the Sharks in the first of four matchups this season, 12-0, in five innings. The shutout was ISU's first of the season and first since March 22 of 2025 at UCF.

Three Cyclones finished with multiple hits, as Jessie Clemons led the way with three knocks. Clemons also recorded six RBI, setting a career-high. Sydney Malott and Tiana Poole joined her with multiple hits. Ava Mullen (2-1) pitched three scoreless frames, while Jaiden Ralston threw two scoreless innings and allowed just one hit.

Devon Medina led the Sharks with a pair of hits, while three others had knocks on the day. LIU's Sarah Wall (0-9) went the distance, fanning a pair in her five innings of work.

How it Happened
After a scoreless first, ISU broke through in the second. With two outs and Malott on third, Kane and Poole drew back-to-back walks for the Cyclones. A bases-loaded walk for McKenna Andrews scored Malott and put ISU up, 1-0. Then, Clemons cranked a double into the left-center gap to clear the bases and put the Cyclones up 4-0. A single from Tatum Johnson would score Clemons from second and give the Cyclones a five-run lead.

Iowa State added five more in the third, running its lead to 10-0. A one-out walk from Shepherd was driven in by Malott, who crushed her team-leading fourth home run of the season over the left field fence, to make it 7-0. Next up, Ford hit for her second triple of the season. With a runner on third and two outs, ISU drew two more walks to load the bases with Clemons back up to bat. She would single up the middle, scoring two, and making it 9-0. An ISU double steal would allow a tenth run as the game turned to the fourth.

In the fourth, with two outs, Malott singled to left field before Ford drove her in on a double to right center, making it 11-0 in favor of ISU.

The Cyclones tacked on a 12^th and final run in the fifth, courtesy of a Clemons solo shot.

Saturday G1 Notes
Home Runs
Iowa State: Sydney Malott (4) Jessie Clemons (2)
LIU: N/A

WP – Ava Mullen (2-1): 3.0 IP, 4 hits, 0 runs, 2 walks, 0 strikeouts
SV – N/A
LP – Sarah Wall (0-9): 5.0 IP, 9 hits, 12 runs, 6 walks, 2 strikeouts

Iowa State 6, North Dakota State 5 (9 Inn.)
ISU overcame a 4-2 deficit to defeat NDSU and move to a perfect 4-0 on the weekend. Kasey Kane launched a game-tying, two-out solo shot in the bottom of the seventh to tie things up before Reagan Bartholomew walked things off with an RBI single in the ninth.

The Cyclone bats struggled in game two, striking out a season-high 11 times. The Cyclones also were held without a double for the first time all season. Despite being outhit 15-7, ISU came through in the end.

Tatum Johnson and Karlee Ford were the only Cyclones with hits through seven frames, as Ford tied for a game-high with three knocks. Jessie Clemons drove in two of ISU's runs with a pair of sacrifice flies, while both Kane and Kadence Shepherd drew a pair of walks.

NDSU's bats were hot from the start, as the team registered a season-high 15 hits against ISU. Five Bison finished with multiple-hit outings, while both Bella Dean and Mya Boos had multiple RBI. Despite striking out eight batters, Jocelyn McClary was dealt the loss.

How it Happened
The Cyclones struck first in game two, as a pair of one-out singles from Ford and Johnson put ISU in business. A fielding error from NDSU would allow one run to come across and put Iowa State on the board first, 1-0.

ISU tacked on a second run in the second frame, again taking advantage of a Bison miscue. A muffed throw allowed for runners on the corners with one out before Clemons lined out to center, driving in a second run.

The Bison responded emphatically in the third, plating three to take the lead. A pair of singles and a walk would load the bases with no outs. A one-out single from Boos would plate two, trimming the lead. NDSU would again load the bases, this time with one out, and drive in a third on a sac fly.

After holding ISU scoreless for the first time all game, North Dakota State earned a fourth run in the fourth, extending its lead to 4-2. A two-out single would be driven in on a double down the left line.

Iowa State got one back in the fifth, loading the bases with no outs to start things off. After a pop-up and strikeout, Tiana Poole worked a 13-pitch at-bat for a walk to bring across the third run.

Both teams would go scoreless in the sixth, and ISU held serve in the top of the seventh, heading to the bottom of the frame looking for a rally. After a pair of looking strikeouts, ISU was down to its final out in Kasey Kane. Kane jumped on the first ball she saw, giving it a ride over the left field wall to knot things up.

ISU was unable to muster another run in the seventh, so the game went to extras. In extras, with the ghost runner rule applied, NDSU scored one in the eighth to take the lead.

ISU answered by sacrifice bunting its runner to third to start things off. Clemons then belted her second sac fly of the game to score the Cyclone runner from third. The teams would then head to the ninth.

In the ninth, NDSU would load the bases with one out, forcing Liv Palumbo, the starter, to re-enter for ISU. She calmly struck out the next batter looking before earning an inning-ending groundout.

ISU then sac bunted its ghost runner to third again to start off the ninth. A swinging strikeout left ISU with one out to spare and a runner on third. Hitless on the day, Bartholomew stepped in and belted an 0-2 ball to the wall, driving in the winning run and walking things off.

Saturday G2 Notes
Home Runs
Iowa State: Kasey Kane (2)
North Dakota State: N/A

WP – Liv Palumbo (3-1): 2.2 IP, 3 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts
SV – N/A
LP – Jocelyn McClary (2-3): 4.2 IP, 3 hits, 3 runs (1 earned), 4 walks, 8 strikeouts

On Deck
The Cyclones will wrap the Gopher Indoor Classic tomorrow, Feb. 22, against LIU at 9 am. The game will be streamed live on B1G+.