ISU Collects Pair of Opening Day Wins in Minneapolis

Friday, February 20

Minneapolis, Minn.

2 p.m.

Iowa State

6-4

Central Michigan

3-4

Iowa State

Central Michigan

Photo by: Iowa State Athletics

ISU Collects Pair of Opening Day Wins in Minneapolis

02.20.2026 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 G1 Box Score (.pdf)G2 Box Score (.pdf)

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Iowa State (7-4) opened up the Gopher Indoor Classic with a pair of wins on Friday, defeating both Central Michigan (3-4) and Minnesota (5-7).

The Cyclones opened the day with a 7-5 win over CMU, overcoming a first-inning, two-run deficit in the process. Tatum Johnson had a whale of a game, collecting a career-high five RBI, four of which came on her second career grand slam.

Game two told a similar story, as ISU overcame a 2-0 first-inning deficit to down the Gophers by a score of 5-2. Karlee Ford accounted for three of the team's five RBI, as she collected her first homer of the season.

Iowa State 7, Central Michigan 5
After falling behind 2-0 early, Iowa State rallied for a 7-5 win to open up the Gopher Indoor Classic. ISU's first four batters would combine for eight of the team's ten hits in the win.

Tatum Johnson had a career-high five RBI in the win, as she also had her second career grand slam. Johnson was joined by Clemons, Bartholomew and Malott as players with multiple hits in the game. Bartholomew and Shepherd accounted for the team's other two RBI.

Jenna Kuzara had a game-high three hits for the Chippewas, driving in a pair of runs. Angela Petrovich joined Kuzara in the multi-hit club, notching two. Petrovich also would score a pair of runs.

How it Happened
CMU struck first, plating a pair of runs in the bottom of the opening frame. The Chippewas would score two runs on three hits to hold the early advantage.

After a scoreless second, ISU got on the board in the third inning. McKenna Andrews and Jessie Clemons each ripped back-to-back one-out singles to put a pair on for the Cyclones. Tatum Johnson then belted a single into right to score Andrews and make it a one-run contest. With Clemons on third and Johnson on first, Bartholomew ripped a single of her own through the left side to score Clemons and knot things up.

In the bottom of the third, Central Michigan retook the lead by plating a pair. The Chippewas would end the inning with three hits, plating the two runs.

Iowa State answered in the top of the fourth in a big way. With one out, both Poole and Andrews drew walks to start things off. After a pitching change, Clemons singled through the left side to load the bases. With the bases juiced, Johnson stepped back into the box and blasted a ball down the right line. Her ball cleared the fence and she touched them all as she had the team's first grand slam of the season.

The Chippewas would get one back in the bottom of the frame, scoring a run and making it 6-5.

Neither team would score in the fifth or sixth, but the Cyclones would add some insurance in the seventh. Bartholomew led things off with a single before eventually advancing to second on a wild pitch. With a 1-2 count, Kadence Shepherd slapped a ball into center, scoring Bartholomew, and making it 7-5.

Schurman closed things out in the seventh to secure the ISU win.

Friday G1 Notes
Home Runs
Iowa State: Tatum Johnson (3)
Central Michigan: N/A

WP – Ava Mullen (2-1): 2.0 IP, 4 hits, 3 runs (2 earned), 3 walks, 0 strikeouts
SV – Lauren Schurman (2): 3.0 IP, 2 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts
LP – Aubrey Strelow (0-1): 2.2 IP, 4 hits, 4 runs, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts

Iowa State 5, Minnesota 2
Much like game one, the Cyclones fell behind 2-0 early, only to use a late run in the fourth and fifth to overcome the deficit and leave with a win.

Karlee Ford and Jessie Clemons led the team with two hits apiece, while Ford had three of the team's five RBI. Ford notched er first homer of the season in the win. Lauren Schurman (4-2) was solid through five frames, fanning three before Ava Mullen came in and closed things down for her first career save. Mullen did not allow a hit through her two relief innings.

Tinley Easton led Minnesota with a pair of hits, but the Gophers would be limited to just four hits total on the evening. Starting pitcher Sydney Schwartz (3-2) tossed 4.1 frames, allowing four runs on seven hits.

How it Happened
Minnesota was able to get runners on the corners in the bottom of the first thanks to a single and a Cyclone error. A walk would load the bases, and a second consecutive one would drive in a run to make it 1-0 with one out. A sac fly to right field would bring in the second run and the game would turn to the second.

After a scoreless second and third inning, Iowa State got on the board in the fourth. A leadoff walk from Malott would set the stage for Ford who clobbered a ball over the left field fence to knot things up at two-all.

ISU would tack on two more in the fifth to take a two-run lead. A one-out single from Shepherd was driven home by Malott, who cranked a two-bagger down the left line to make it 3-2. After advancing to third on, Malott was driven in again by Ford, who earned RBI number three on the day with a single into the outfield.

Nursing a 4-2 advantage, ISU scratched one more run across in the sixth. With Clemons on first and one out, Johnson doubled into the left-center gap. Her knock allowed Clemons to sprint from first to home and make things 5-2.

Mullen would enter for the Cyclones in the bottom of the sixth and shut down the Gopher attack, earning her first save and the team's seventh win.

Friday G2 Notes
Home Runs
Iowa State: Karlee Ford (1)
Minnesota: N/A

WP – Lauren Schurman (4-2): 5.0 IP, 4 hits, 2 runs (1 earned), 3 walks, 3 strikeouts
SV – Ava Mullen (1): 2.0 IP, 0 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk, 1 strikeout

LP – Sydney Schwartz (3-2): 4.1 IP, 7 hits, 4 runs, 4 walks, 4 strikeouts

On Deck
Iowa State will have two more games on tap tomorrow, Feb. 21, when they take on both LIU and North Dakota State. Both games will be streamed on B1G+ and game one against LIU is set to start at 11:30 am.