Cyclones Conclude Nonconference Slate at Drake

AMES, Iowa - Iowa State, which has won three of its last four games, will play its final midweek game of the 2022 season Wednesday at Drake. First pitch between the Cyclones and Bulldogs is set for 7 p.m. from Buel Field.

The Matchup: Iowa State (24-25, 4-11 Big 12) vs. Drake (18-26, 12-11 MVC)
Where: Des Moines, Iowa - Buel Field
When: Wednesday, May 4 - 7 p.m.
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: Cyclones.com

Key Storylines

Right-handed pitcher Ellie Spelhaug was tabbed the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week Tuesday, the second weekly honor of her career. The junior posted a 1.66 ERA across 12.2 innings and picked up two wins in her four appearances.
Spelhaug logged 5.2 innings of work against Iowa while striking out three in a 5-4 ISU victory. She closed the week by allowing one run in seven innings at Baylor, including back-to-back outings in which she allowed only one hit.
Last weekend, Iowa State won its first Big 12 series of the season at Baylor. After dropping a pitcher's duel in game one, 1-0, the Cyclones were victorious in games two and three by identical scores of 6-1.
This will mark the second meeting of the season between Iowa State and Drake. The Bulldogs were victorious, 7-6, in the first meeting on Feb. 13 inside the UNI-Dome.
The Cyclone pitching staff showed its prowess over the weekend, allowing only two earned runs. Karlie Charles (0.00), Saya Swain (0.88) and Ellie Spelhaug (1.00) all registered a 1.00 ERA or better and pitched at least five innings during the series.
Milaysia Ochoa has been Iowa State's best hitter over the last five games, hitting at a .333 clip. Ochoa had a standout performance in Sunday's series finale, going 3-of-4 at the plate with a pair of doubles.
Carli Spelhaug, who is 43-of-44 on stolen base attempts in her career, ranks second among active Division I players in stolen base percentage (.977). The speedster is averaging 1.06 runs per game (19th nationally). She is one of two players in program history to score 50+ runs in a season twice in her career.
Mikayla Ramos has logged 51 RBIs in 49 games this season, the 19th-most in the country. Last season, Ramos batted in 57 runs to break Iowa State's single-season RBI record. Ramos is the only player in program history to drive in 50+ runs in more than one season of her career.
After a hot start to the season, Ramos struggled at the plate to begin Big 12 play. The senior has been more productive as of late, however, hitting .333 with five doubles, a home run and seven RBIs over the last 10 games.
The Cyclones are no strangers to playing in close games this season. Seventeen of ISU's games have been decided by two runs or less. The Cyclones are 5-12 in such games, including 4-7 in games decided by one run. Iowa State has left the tying or winning run stranded in scoring position in the final inning of three of those 10 losses and has lost via walk off three times.
Iowa State is 20-3 when scoring six runs or more compared to 4-22 when scoring less.

Series History

ISU leads, 77-26
Last Meeting: 2/13/22 (L, 5-6)
Streak: L2
Trends: ISU went 3-1 against the Bulldogs in four meetings last season.

Cyclones Conclude Nonconference Slate at Drake

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Players Mentioned

Karlie Charles

Milaysia Ochoa

Mikayla Ramos

Carli Spelhaug

Ellie Spelhaug

Saya Swain

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics

Cyclones Conclude Nonconference Slate at Drake

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Karlie Charles

Milaysia Ochoa

Mikayla Ramos

Carli Spelhaug

Ellie Spelhaug

Saya Swain

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