Cyclones Sweep Cougars; Win 8-7

Sunday, March 22

Ames, Iowa

12 p.m.

Iowa State

19-10, 3-3

Houston

17-17, 1-8

Houston

Iowa State

Photo by: Iowa State Athletics

03.22.2026 | Softball

Box Score Box Score (.pdf)

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State (19-10, 3-3 Big 12) completed its first sweep of the season on Sunday, walking off Houston (17-17, 1-8 Big 12) by a score of 8-7.

The Cyclones again found themselves down early, trailing by as many as three runs in the fourth, but Iowa State rallied for a fourth-straight win. Victoria Prado played the hero, having a walk-off at-bat which resulted in a Houston error.

Prado was the only ISU player with multiple hits on the day, as she finished with two of the team's eight knocks. Sydney Malott had a team-high three RBI, all coming on a first-inning blast – her second-straight day with a three-run homer. Malott also had a team-high two walks.

Jaiden Ralston got the start for ISU, going two innings and allowing three earned runs. Ava Mullen pitched the next three innings, allowing just one earned run on three hits. Lauren Schurman (10-2) picked up her third win of the series, allowing just one run on four hits in her two innings of action.

Houston outhit ISU, as Makenna Mitchell had herself a day, going 3-of-4 at the plate. Mitchell had a team-high three RBI. Madox Mitchael and Maddie Hartley (the other two members of the top three batters) each had two hits. Nicole Bordeux (2-3) picked up the loss.

How it Happened
For the second-straight game, Houston scored first by plating multiple runs in the opening inning. A wild pitch and Cyclone error allowed for two runs to come across as UH jumped out to an early 2-0 lead.

Also, for the second-straight game, ISU had an answer in the bottom of the frame with a three-run Malott shot. Jessie Clemons led off with a double before Tatum Johnson drew a walk. After two outs, Malott stepped in and cranked a ball over the center field fence to put ISU on top, 3-2.

The Cougars struck right back in the top of the second, plating two more runs to retake the lead. A two-RBI single from Makenna Mitchell did the damage, putting UH in front.

The Cougars took advantage of a pair of two-out errors from the Cyclones to plate a fifth run in the third inning, extending their lead to two.

UH made it four consecutive innings with a run, as it plated a sixth run in the fourth. Mitchell blasted a two-out home run over the right-center field fence to make it a 6-3 ballgame.

The Cyclone bats finally sting together some production in the bottom of the frame, scoring three runs of their own to tie things up. Prado led the inning off with a single, and a batter later, Tiana Poole would drive in the run to make it 6-4. A pair of two-out RBI doubles from both Johnson and Reagan Bartholomew scored runs five and six as both teams went to the fifth inning as part of a brand new ballgame.

ISU would then take its first lead of the afternoon in the bottom of the fifth, again using the bat of Prado to spark the scoring. With a runner on second, Prado sent a single up the middle to plate the run and put ISU on top, 7-6.

Again, though, Houston had the answer. In the top of the sixth, the Cougars' other prolific bat, Maddie Hartley, bombed a two-run homer over the left-center field fence to knot things back up at 7-all.

Play would go to the bottom of the seventh, both sides squared away at seven. ISU had two in scoring position with one out before Prado came back to the plate and made it happen again. Prado sent a roller to the pitcher, who, after checking the runner at third, rifled over to first but dirted the ball, resulting in an error and allowing for ISU's winning run to come across.

Sunday Notes
Home Runs
Iowa State: Sydney Malott (7)
Houston: Makenna Mitchell (13), Maddie Hartley (13)

WP – Lauren Schurman (10-2): 2.0 IP, 4 hits, 1 run, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts
SV – N/A
LP – Nicole Bodeux (2-3): 2.2 IP, 2 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts

On Deck
ISU will be back in action on Wednesday, March 25, when it returns to the CSC to host Drake for a midweek showdown. The Cyclones and Bulldogs will face off at 4pm and the game will start at 4 pm.