Upcoming Event: Softball versus Omaha on February 6, 2026 at 10 a.m.
10 a.m.
Softball
Omaha
Iowa State University Athletics
Saturday, May 11
Oklahoma City, Okla.
1:30 PM
Iowa State
vs
Third-Place Game
Cyclones To Face UT, OSU At Big 12 Championship
05.09.2019 | Softball
CYCLONE NOTEBOOK
1. Iowa State (31-22, 7-11 Big 12) is the No. 5 seed at the 2019 Big 12 Softball Championship in Oklahoma City, Okla. The Cyclones will open the tournament vs. the No. 3 seed Texas on Friday at 2 p.m., followed by a match-up with No. 2-seeded Oklahoma State at 5 p.m.
2. ISU's fifth-place finish in the Big 12 is tied for its best final conference standing since 1993. The Cyclones have also crossed the 30-win barrier for the first time since 1989, and are looking to finish with a winning record for the first time since 1995.
3. Heading into postseason play, Iowa State is No. 59 in the NCAA's weekly RPI rankings. No. 59 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.
4. Junior Sami Williams was named to the 2019 All-Big 12 First Team on Wednesday, her second career first team all-conference honor. She is the first Cyclone to earn multiple All-Big 12 first teams nods since Erica Miller (2012-13). Newcomer Mikayla Ramos was also named to the All-Big 12 Freshman team, becoming ISU's first all-freshman squad member since Williams (2017).
5. Iowa State will look to build momentum after closing the regular season with a three-game sweep of Kansas on senior weekend. Game one ended on a Sami Williams walk-off home run in the ninth inning, and game three ended on a Williams walk-off home run in the eighth.
6. Senior Savannah Sanders was incredible in the circle vs. KU. Sanders went 3-0 in the series with a 0.00 ERA in 10.1 innings of action. The native of Mt. Juliet, Tenn., logged a complete game, 61-pitch shutout in game two to lead the Cyclones to a 1-0 victory, and allowed just four total hits in the series.
7. Sami Williams is one of just three players in the country with at least a .385 batting average, 18 doubles and 14 home runs this season. She is the only player from a Power 5 conference with these numbers.
8. Williams' 2019 campaign is unprecedented in Iowa State history. She is currently tied atop Iowa State's single-season home runs chart (14) and is three doubles shy of breaking her own single-season doubles record (20). No player in program history had ever tallied 11+ home runs and 14+ doubles in the same season before.
9. Senior pitcher Emma 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- 140), games started (T-No. 4 - 75), innings pitched (No. 3 - 533.1) and strikeouts (No. 10 - 298).
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 3.29 is on pace to be the best by an Iowa State staff since 2009 (2.73). Emma Hylen's 3.16 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 79 career starts, No. 4 in games pitched with 123 and No. 9 in innings pitched with 448.1. Sanders is also No. 12 in all-time strikeouts with 271.
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 27 double plays on the season, tied for No. 9 in the country and No. 2 in the Big 12. The Cyclones also rank No. 3 in the Big 12 with a .968 fielding percentage.
13. Prior to this season, Iowa State had never swept multiple three-game series vs "Power 5" opponents in the same season. The 2019 Cyclones have three such three-game sweeps (Georgia Tech, Baylor, Kansas).
COMPLETE GAME NOTES
For complete game notes, click here (PDF).
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
IF
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