Iowa State opens Big 12 Tournament with Baylor

AMES, Iowa – After finishing the regular season strong, winning 11 of its final 15 games, Iowa State will meet up with the Baylor Bears for the fourth time this season after taking two-of-three matchups against BU in Ames in the Big 12 Championship.

This marks the second straight season that Iowa State and Baylor will meet up in the first round of the Big 12 Championship, as the Cyclones took last year's postseason contest, 2-1, in eight innings. Last year, Iowa State was the four seed and Baylor the five, while this year, the Bears are the four, with the Cyclones being the five.

The Matchup: Iowa State (24-29, 6-12 Big 12) vs. No. 15 Baylor (39-15, 8-10 Big 12)
Where: USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium // Oklahoma City
When: May 11 – 10 a.m.
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Live Stats: cyclones.com

Quick Hits

The Cyclones earned their second-straight Big 12 series victory of the season this past weekend, taking two-of-three against Kansas after taking two-of-three against then-No. 18 Baylor.
Iowa State and Baylor will meet in the postseason for the third consecutive season. Iowa State is 2-0 in the previous two postseason matchups with the Bears.
Iowa State defeated in-state foe Iowa for the fourth straight time on April 26, punctuating the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series with a win and pushing the school to its largest margin of victory in series history (17-8).
- With Wednesday's win over Drake, Iowa State has defeated all three DI schools from the state of Iowa in the 2023 campaign.
ISU defeated No. 3 Oklahoma State on April 16, tying the program record for the highest-ranked team ever defeated - ISU also took down No. 3 Texas in Austin in 2005.
- It is the second-straight season ISU downed a top 10-ranked OSU team. The Cyclone win gave OSU its first Big 12 loss.
ISU is up to 78 in the RPI and is one of five teams in the top 80 to have a losing record (Kansas, Arizona State, Georgia Tech & North Carolina).
Both Milaysia Ochoa and Mikayla Ramos hit RBI milestones this season and each are ranked in the top ten in school history. Ochoa tallied her 100th career RBI against Iowa, bringing four runs across the plate in her two-home run outing, while Ramos earned her 150th RBI against Colorado State.
- Ochoa has been hit by a pitch nine times this season, the fourth most in a single season in school history.
- Ochoa has 12 home runs this season, the seventh most in a single season in school history.
ISU's Saya Swain (8.8) ranks among the top 50 nationally in strikeouts per seven innings.
- Swain leads the Big 12 in saves with six. Her six saves set an Iowa State single-season record.
Coach Pinkerton earned a milestone victory, number 500, in the April 22 game one win over CSU. He is one of three active coaches leading three teams to the NCAA Tournament (ISU, Montana, Arkansas).
Ten of ISU's losses have come to top ten teams this season, No. 6 Arkansas, No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 9 Texas and No. 3 Okla. State.

Leading the Cyclones
Milaysia Ochoa (.317) and Mikayla Ramos (.299) lead the team in batting average and are the only Cyclones with more than 40 hits on the season. Ochoa has a team-high 12 doubles and 12 home runs while also leading the team in RBI with 32. Carli Spelhaug has earned the most walks and has a team-high 12 stolen bases on the season. Spelhaug also has four triples, the second most in the Big 12.

ISU rotates four primary pitchers in the circle, as Karlie Charles (4-2) holds the lowest ERA on the team at a 3.35. Charles has walked just ten players this season, the fewest among Big 12 players. Saya Swain (5-8) leads the team in strikeouts, as she currently sits at 119. Senior Ellie Spelhaug (7-8) has pitched the most innings of anyone on staff (99.2), making appearances in a team-high 36 games. Freshman Jaiden Ralston and Tatum Johnson round out the staff.

Series History

Baylor leads, 45-22
Last Meeting: 4/30/23 (W, 6-5)
Last Cyclone Win: 4/30/23 (W, 6-5)
Streak: W1
Trends: Iowa State has won seven of the last ten meetings against the Bears, including taking 2-of-3 against the then-ranked No. 18 squad at the end of April.
This will be the third straight season that ISU and Baylor meet four times in a season. as the two also met in OKC in 2022. Iowa State downed Baylor, 2-1 in eight innings.

On Deck
With a win, Iowa State would advance to face top-seeded Oklahoma in the semifinals of the Big 12 Championship on Friday, May 12, at 1 p.m. With a loss, Iowa State's season would conclude.

-ISU-

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Players Mentioned

Karlie Charles

Tatum Johnson

Milaysia Ochoa

Jaiden Ralston

Mikayla Ramos

Carli Spelhaug

Ellie Spelhaug

Saya Swain

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics