Iowa State To Open Big 12 Play At No. 24 OSU

AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State Softball team (17-16) will open Big 12 play this weekend in Stillwater, Okla., taking on No. 24 Oklahoma State (21-7). The series begins Friday night at 6 p.m. at Cowgirl Stadium, followed by a game Saturday (2 p.m.) and Sunday (12 p.m.).

vs. No. 24 Oklahoma State
Where: Stillwater, Okla.
When: Friday, March 23 – Sunday, March 25
Live Stats: Live stats will be available on the schedule page here.
Watch: Friday and Sunday's games will broadcast by Fox College Sports, Saturday's game will be streamed live by Oklahoma State here.
Live Updates: Follow @CycloneSB on Twitter for live in-game updates from the field.

Cyclone Headlines
-The Cyclones are 22-66 all-time vs. Oklahoma State. The Cowgirls won two of three in the series last season in Ames, with Iowa State winning in thrilling walk-off fashion in the series finale. Megan Schweitzer stole home in the bottom of the seventh inning to complete an ISU comeback and secure the first conference win of the season.

-The NCAA released the first RPI rankings of the season on March 20. Iowa State is ranked No. 60 in the initial RPI rankings, the program's best standing in the first-week rankings since 2011.

-Junior Taylor Nearad, a junior college transfer from Kirkwood, is tied for first in NCAA DI in doubles this season with 13. Nearad made history in ISU's 7-3 victory over North Texas, tying a single-game school record with three doubles in the contest. Nearad went 3-of-4 at the plate and scored a run while becoming the fourth Cyclone ever to record three doubles in one game.

-The Cyclones are coming off a 2-3 weekend at the Wooo Pig Classic in Fayetteville, Ark. Iowa State scored wins over Omaha (6-5) and 2017 NCAA regional qualifier Tulsa (12-1) at the tournament. Iowa State trailed the Mavericks 5-0 after 1.5 innings, but rallied to win on a walk-off home run by Sydney Stites in the bottom of the seventh. It is tied for the third-largest comeback in program history. The tournament at Arkansas marked the end of a 10-day, 13-game spring break trip for the Cyclones.

-Stites shined all weekend in Fayetteville, going 9-of-19 (.474) at the plate during ISU's five-game stretch a Bogle Park. The junior tied team-highs with three doubles and two home runs at the tournament while scoring four runs. Her solo home run in the seventh inning vs. Omaha was ISU's second walk-off victory of the season.

-Sami Williams was on fire at the plate during Iowa State's eight-game swing through the state of Texas. The sophomore went 15-of-29 (.517) at the dish with five home runs, nine RBIs, four stolen bases on four attempts and 11 runs scored, all of which were team-highs. She went 3-of-3 with two solo home runs to lift the Cyclones to the 2-1 win over UT Arlington. It was the second multi-home run game of her career. Williams also notched a career-high four base hits with a double and a home run in ISU's 6-1 win over Lipscomb.

-Williams is once again powering the Cyclone offense, leading Iowa State in hits (45), runs (25), home runs (9), RBIs (20) and total bases (79). The sophomore also leads the Big 12 in hits and total bases, while her .398 batting average ranks eighth among league hitters. As a freshman, Williams was named to the 2017 All-Big 12 First Team. She was one of three freshmen to garner first team accolades and is just the second newcomer in program history to be named to the first team. She is also a finalist for the 2017 Schutt Sports/NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year.

-The Cyclone pitching staff was phenomenal in Houston, allowing just four runs (three earned) in five games at Cougar Softball Stadium. Emma Hylen led the way, going 2-0 on the weekend with a 0.39 ERA in 18.0 innings of action. Her wins came over Lipscomb and Penn State.

-First-year head coach Jamie Pinkerton has the Cyclones playing their best in tight games. With a 3-2 eight-inning victory over Jacksonville on March 4, Iowa State improved to 3-0 in extra-inning games, and is now 7-3 in games decided by one run. Last season, Iowa State was 1-2 in extra innings and 8-7 in games games decided by one run.

-Senior pitcher Brianna Weilbacher was named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week following a dominant weekend at the Osprey Classic. On the week, Weilbacher recorded a 0.00 ERA in 15.0 innings pitched with 22 strikeouts for a league-leading 10.27 strikeouts per seven innings.

-Iowa State now has three pitchers on its roster (Emma Hylen, Savannah Sanders and Brianna Weilbacher) that have won Big 12 Pitcher of the Week honors during their career. That's tied with Oklahoma for the most in the Big 12.

-Iowa State bolstered its roster with the addition of three transfers: 2016 Big Sky Freshman of the Year Sydney Stites (Montana), two-time Junior College National Player of the Year Taylor Nearad (Kirkwood) and NSAA Co-Newcomer of the Year Hannah Carter (Bellevue). Nearad and Stites have started every game this season and have been featured prominently in the ISU batting order, while Carter has 27 starts. Nearad and Stites are tied for first on the team in triples (2) while Nearad is No. 1 in doubles (13). Stites is second in runs (18) and Carter has assumed the No. 3 spot on the team with five stolen bases.

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Players Mentioned

Hannah Carter

Emma Hylen

Taylor Nearad

Savannah Sanders

Megan Schweitzer

Sydney Stites

Brianna Weilbacher

Sami Williams

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