Iowa State Softball Falls to Oklahoma State, 3-1, in Series Finale

AMES, Iowa - Iowa State's seventh inning comeback bid fell short as the Cyclones fell to Oklahoma State, 3-1, in Big 12 softball action on Sunday at ISU's Southwest Athletic Complex. With the loss, Iowa State falls to 13-25 overall and 1-10 in conference action.

Trailing 3-0 going into the bottom of the seventh, freshman Lindsey Black entered the game as a pinch hitter for sophomore Jennifer Bigbee, drawing a walk. Freshman Ellen Buehner, pinch running for Black, then advanced to second when Cowgirl shortstop Stephanie Nicholson bobbled the throw from second baseman Tara Jeffery. The play also allowed freshman Stephanie Mosley to reach first. The Cyclones loaded the bases when senior Kim Rodgers drew a walk with no outs. Junior Cary Akins then plated ISU's only run of the game on a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Buehner from thrid. However, Oklahoma State pitcher Jessica Hoppock got sophomore Jessica Quade to pop up to second and caught her classmate, Katie Reichling, looking on a called third strike to end the contest.

"We had lots of opportunities today, but we didn't get any key hits," said ISU head coach Ruth Crowe. "We had a good mentality. We just didn't get the hits we needed. A couple of times we had the bases loaded and OSU made some defensive mistakes and we just didn't capitalize on them."

Oklahoma State did its damage in the thrid and fifth innings. The Cowgirls opened the scoring with a run in the third on an RBI single to center by Shanel Scott, scoring Jennie Killman from third. Killman had reached on a double to right center and then was moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Lacy Darity. In the fifth, OSU added to its lead on a two-run home run by Darity.

Reichling was credited with the loss, dropping her ledger to 6-9 on the season.

Iowa State returns to action on Tuesday when it travels to 20th-ranked Iowa. The teams have split the last two meetings with the Hawkeyes winning last years' contest in Ames, 4-0. ISU won in 2003 in Iowa City, upsetting then-No. 24 Iowa, 4-3, in 12 innings. Tuesday's contest is scheduled for a 4 p.m. start.