Cyclones To Face UNI On Thursday

AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State Softball team is bound for Cedar Falls, Iowa on Thursday to battle in-state foe UNI (20-15, 5-5 Missouri Valley) at 7 p.m. The game was moved indoors to the UNI-Dome, as weather has rendered the outdoor surface unplayable. It will be Iowa State's first softball game played indoors since Feb. 14, 2016 vs. North Dakota (Cyclone Invitational).

vs. UNI
Where: Cedar Falls, Iowa
When: Thursday, April 12 at 7 p.m.
Live Stats: Live stats will be available on the schedule page here.
Watch: The game will be broadcast live by ESPN3.
Live Updates: Follow @CycloneSB on Twitter for live in-game updates from the field.

Cyclone Headlines
-Iowa State is 39-38-1 all-time vs. UNI in a series that dates back to 1974. The Cyclones and Panthers last faced off on April 26, 2017 in a 15-4 run-rule Iowa State victory at the Cyclone Sports Complex. Sami Williams went 2-of-4 with a home run and scored three runs in the rout.

-The Cyclones will look to bounce back from an 0-3 weekend vs. No. 2 Oklahoma at Marita Hynes Field in Norman, Okla. Sami Williams went 4-of-8 with three doubles, three RBIs, two walks and scored two runs on the weekend to lead the Cyclone offense. Iowa State tallied five runs in game two of its series, the most runs the Sooners have allowed thus far in 2018.

-Iowa State's offense fared better than the vast majority of OU opponents this season. Nychole Antillon's solo home run in game one of the series marked the first run given up by Sooner ace Paige Parker in her last 41 2/3 innings of action. Iowa State also scored first-inning runs in games two and three of the series. Oklahoma has not allowed a run in the first inning against any other opponent this season.

-The NCAA released the first RPI rankings of the season on March 20. Iowa State was ranked No. 57 on March 27, the program's best standing since the NCAA began to release weekly RPIs in 2011. The Cyclones are No. 59 in this week's RPI rankings.

-Sami Williams is once again powering the Cyclone offense, leading Iowa State in hits (55), runs (29), home runs (9), RBIs (23) and total bases (95). The sophomore also leads the Big 12 in hits, 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.

-On March 25, ISU pulled off its biggest win of the season, defeating No. 24 Oklahoma State in a 12-inning thriller in Stillwater, 5-4. It was the program's first win over a top-25 team since 4/25/2015 vs. No. 16 Baylor. The Cyclones trailed 4-0 after five innings, but got home runs by Logan Schaben and Sydney Stites in the top of the seventh, and a solo home run by Taylor Nearad in the 12th inning to complete the comeback.

-First-year head coach Jamie Pinkerton has the Cyclones playing their best in tight games. With a 5-4 12-inning victory over Oklahoma State on March 25, Iowa State improved to 4-0 in extra-inning games, and is now 8-3 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.

-Pitcher Emma Hylen had one of the finest performances of her career in ISU's win over the Cowgirls. Hylen, a junior, entered in relief in the bottom of the fifth inning and proceeded to shut down OSU's explosive offense. Hylen held the Cowgirls scoreless on just five hits with two strikeouts in 8.0 innings of work. Dating back to last season, Hylen has been the pitcher of record in five of ISU's last six conference victories.

-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 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.

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Players Mentioned

Nychole Antillon

Emma Hylen

Taylor Nearad

Savannah Sanders

Logan Schaben

Sydney Stites

Brianna Weilbacher

Sami Williams

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Iowa State University Athletics