Iowa State To Host No. 19 Baylor

AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State softball team (22-25, 3-9 Big 12) is set for pivotal Big 12 action this weekend, facing No. 19 Baylor (30-14, 7-6 Big 12) in a three-game series at the Cyclone Sports Complex.

Game one of the series is slated for Friday at 4 p.m., game two on Saturday at 1 p.m., and the series finale will be Sunday at noon. Sunday's game will be highlighted by a Senior Day ceremony to celebrate ISU seniors Nychole Antillon, Kaila Konz and Brianna Weilbacher.

Admission is free to all home softball games at the Cyclone Sports Complex.

vs. Baylor
Where: Ames, Iowa
When: Friday, April 27 – Sunday, April 29
Live Stats: Live stats will be available on the schedule page here.
Watch: The game will be broadcast live by Cyclones.tv.
Live Updates: Follow @CycloneSB on Twitter for live in-game updates from the field.

Cyclone Headlines
-This weekend's series vs. Baylor has postseason implications for both teams. With just six league games remaining for both teams, Baylor enters this weekend at No. 4 in the Big 12 standings, while Iowa State is No. 5. One win in the series would secure Iowa State a bid to the Big 12 Championship in Oklahoma City, Okla.

-Iowa State is 12-38-0 all-time vs. Baylor in a series that dates back to 1980. The Bears swept a three-game series last season in Waco, April 7-9. The Cyclones' last win over Baylor came on April 25, 2015, as Iowa State upset No. 16 BU, 4-1 on the road at Getterman Stadium.

-The Cyclones will look to move forward with momentum gathered in a 4-2 win over in-state foe Iowa in the Cy-Hawk rivalry game. Iowa State, which has now won four of its last five, defeated the Hawkeyes behind a complete game victory from Emma Hylen. ISU's seniors end their careers with a 3-1 record against Iowa, while first-year head coach Jamie Pinkerton secured a win in his Cy-Hawk debut as a head coach.

-Iowa State has played just four of its first 47 games at home, tied for second in NCAA DI for fewest home games to date. ISU is the only Power 5 program in the nation that has played fewer than five home games so far in 2018.

-Last weekend Iowa State notched its first Big 12 series win of the season after taking two of three games off Texas Tech in Lubbock. The Cyclones won the first two games at Rocky Johnson Field to secure their first Big 12 road series win since April 23, 2017 at Texas. With the series win, Iowa State took sole possession of fifth place in the conference with two series remaining.

-Logan Schaben shined at the plate to lead the Cyclones at Texas Tech. The sophomore was named the Big 12 Player of the Week after going 4-of-8 with two home runs, a double, four RBIs and three runs scored in Lubbock. Schaben, who also drew a pair of walks, had a .600 on-base percentage and 1.375 slugging percentage during the series.

-Pinkerton, who is in his first season at the program's helm, has the Cyclones playing their best in tight games. With the 10-7 eight-inning victory over UNI on April 13, Iowa State improved to 5-0 in extra-inning games, and is also 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.

-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. 64 in this week's RPI rankings.

-Sami Williams tallied five hits at TTU to crack Iowa State's single-season top 10 for the second consecutive season, becoming just the second player in program history to appear on the single-season hits chart multiple times (Brittany Gomez). Williams tallied 66 base hits as a freshman to tie for fifth on ISU's season charts, and has 63 so far in 2018.

-As a sophomore, Williams has already secured spots in the program's top-10 for career doubles (32 - T-No. 7) and home runs (18 - No. 9). Her .375 career batting average would rank No. 2 on Iowa State's career list, while her .389 average in 2018 would place No. 6 on the single-season list.

-Williams is leading Iowa State in hits (63), runs (34), home runs (10), RBIs (25) and total bases (107). The sophomore is third in the Big 12 in hits, while her .389 batting average ranks ninth 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.

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Players Mentioned

Nychole Antillon

Brittany Gomez

Emma Hylen

Kaila Konz

Logan Schaben

Brianna Weilbacher

Sami Williams

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