Cyclones Set For Midweek Action At Drake

Softball Header_Drake

CYCLONE NOTEBOOK
1. The Iowa State softball team (28-21, 4-11 Big 12) will travel south to Des Moines, Iowa to face Drake (36-14, 21-2 MVC) on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Buel Field. The game will be broadcast live by ESPN+.

2. Iowa State leads the all-time series vs. Drake, 74-23. The Cyclones' 97 meetings vs. Drake are the most against any non-conference opponent in school history, and ISU's 74 wins are the most all-time victories vs. any school. The two teams have not meet on the diamond since a 3-2 Bulldog win at Buel Field on April 11, 2017.

3. The Cyclones are looking to rebound after being swept in a three-game series at home by No. 1 Oklahoma. Iowa State's three games vs. the Sooners were the third, fourth and fifth meetings vs. a No. 1-ranked foe this season, the most ever in a single season in ISU history.

4. Iowa State hit four home runs in its 13-6 extra-inning victory at Omaha last week, tied for the second-most in a single game in program history. Sami Williams, Kaylee Bosworth, Sally Woolpert and Logan Schaben all went yard to lead ISU to its fifth-consecutive win. The Cyclones had not hit 4+ home runs in a game since April 15, 2014 vs. North Dakota.

5. Iowa State is No. 56 in the weekly RPI rankings, released by the NCAA. No. 56 would be the highest RPI finish in program history. The Cyclones were ranked No. 44 on April 8, 2019, which was the highest weekly RPI ranking ever achieved by Iowa State.

6. Junior Sami Williams has established herself among the nation's premier offensive weapons. She is one of just four players in the country with at least a .390 batting avg., 17 doubles and 12 home runs this season. Williams is the only player from a Power 5 conference with these numbers.

7. Through 45 games, Williams has already put up unprecedented numbers for the Cardinal & Gold. She is the first player in program history to record 11+ home runs and 14+ doubles in the same season. She is three home runs shy of breaking ISU's single-season home runs record (14) and four doubles shy of breaking her own single-season doubles record (20).

8. Senior pitcher Emma Hylen was named the College Sports Madness Big 12 Player of the Week following a dominant weekend vs. Baylor. Hylen went 2-0 vs. Baylor with a 0.60 ERA and a complete game victory in two appearances. The native of Roseville, Minn., closed out the series by surrendering just one hit with three strikeouts in 4.2 innings of relief work. Hylen is the second Cyclone to earn College Sports Madness weekly honors this season (Kaylee Bosworth - April 9).

9. Hylen, already Iowa State's career leader in saves with nine, continues to climb Iowa State's all-time rankings in several categories. Her 40 career wins are No. 5 in ISU history. She is also among the all-time leaders in appearances (No. 3- 137), games started (T-No. 5 - 72) innings pitched (No. 5 - 512.1) and strikeouts (No. 10 - 291).

10. The Cyclone pitching staff, under the tutelage of pitching coach Kate Sinnott, has shown tremendous improvement in 2019. The group's combined ERA of 3.04 is on pace to be the best by an Iowa State staff since 2009 (2.73). Emma Hylen's 2.76 ERA would be the best single-season figure by a Cyclone pitcher since 2010 (Rachel Zabriskie - 2.74).

11. Senior Savannah Sanders is also climbing Iowa State's all-time pitching charts. The native of Mt. Juliet, Tenn., is No. 3 in school history with 78 career starts, No. 4 in games pitched with 120 and No. 9 in innings pitched with 438.0. Sanders is also No. 12 in all-time strikeouts with 268.

12. Iowa State's defense has made tremendous strides in their second season working with head coach Jamie Pinkerton and assistant Courtney Martinez, who has been charged with tutoring the infield. Iowa State has turned a Big 12-leading 24 double plays on the season, and ranks No. 3 in the Big 12 with a .968 fielding percentage.

13. 2019 is the first season in program history that Iowa State has swept two Power 5 opponents (Baylor & Georgia Tech) in a three-game series.

COMPLETE GAME NOTES
For complete game notes, click here (PDF).

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Players Mentioned

Kaylee Bosworth

Emma Hylen

Savannah Sanders

Logan Schaben

Sami Williams

Sally Woolpert

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