Cyclones Win First, Drop Second, on Day Two of UCSB Tournament

Saturday, February 28

Santa Barbara, Calif.

12 p.m.

Iowa State

12-5

LIU

0-20

Iowa State

Long Island

Cyclones Win First, Drop Second, on Day Two of UCSB Tournament

02.28.2026 | Softball

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

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Cyclones (12-6) opened day two of the UCSB Tournament with a 10-5 win over LIU (0-20) before falling to host-school UC Santa Barbara, 7-5.

The Cyclones used two explosive innings in the first contest to down the Sharks for the fourth time this season. Reagan Bartholomew cranked the team's second grand slam of the season in the win, while Jaiden Ralston threw two no-hit innings in relief.

ISU went down 7-1 to the Gauchos in game two, and a four-run seventh frame was too little, too late, as the team couldn't complete the Saturday sweep. Just four of the 11 Cyclones who made plate appearances collected hits as the ISU bats were out of sync in the loss.

Iowa State 10, LIU 5
After falling behind 1-0, ISU used a five-run second and four-run fourth to power past LIU in the teams' fourth and final meeting of the season, 10-5. ISU went 4-0 against the Sharks, with all four contests coming in the last two weekends.

Jessie Clemons, Reagan Bartholomew and Karlee Ford each had two knocks in the game, with Bartholomew accounting for five RBI. Bartholomew had her first collegiate grand slam in the win, the team's second of the season.

Lily Hinkle and Jen Rodriguez had two hits apiece for the Sharks, as five different players collected RBI. Sarah Wall (0-11) got the start, while Gigi Clavel pitched the last 4.2 innings, striking out three.

How it Happened
The Cyclones threatened in the first, placing runners on second and third, but would leave them stranded. On the flip side of the frame, LIU took advantage of its base runners. A leadoff single was immediately driven in by a double, as LIU took a 1-0 lead.

In the second, a leadoff walk drawn by Kane moved to second on a Malott single. Tiana Poole laid down a sac bunt to advance both into scoring position. After a lineout, a single from Clemons plated Kane and put runners on the corners. After a Tatum Johnson walk loaded the bases, Reagan Bartholomew belted her third home run of the season and first career grand slam to put the Cyclones on top, 5-1.

LIU got one back in the bottom of the third, as the first two batters reached. Following a pair of swinging strikeouts, a single down the left line drove in LIU's second run of the game.

ISU plated four more in the fourth, as the inning started with both Andrews and Clemons reaching on Shark errors. Johnson then drew her second walk to load the bases with no outs. A sac fly from Bartholomew scored Andrews, and a Ford double into center plated Clemons. With runners on second and third, Kane also belted a double, this time to right center, to score both Ford and Johnson and put the Cyclones on top, 9-2.

The Sharks would score three in the bottom of the fifth, drawing three walks and a single to plate run No. 1. An infield groundout would score a second, and a single into center would plate a third.

Iowa State would score its tenth and final run in the sixth inning thanks to Kadence Shepherd. A one-out double from Ford was driven in by Shepherd, who would single into shallow left-center.

Saturday G1 Notes
Home Runs
Iowa State: Reagan Bartholomew (3)
LIU: N/A

WP – Liv Palumbo (4-1): 4.0 IP, 5 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts
SV – N/A
LP – Sarah Wall (0-10): 2.1 IP, 4 hits, 5 runs, 4 walks, 0 strikeouts

UC Santa Barbara 7, Iowa State 5
ISU struck first, going up 1-0, but seven unanswered runs from the home-team Gauchos proved to be too much as ISU fell to UCSB for the second-straight day, 7-5.

Tatum Johnson had a great game for ISU, collecting two RBI on a game-high three hits. Jessie Clemons and Reagan Bartholomew each had a pair of hits, while Kasye Kane had the team's lone other to go with two RBI.

UCSB used some timely hitting with runners in scoring position to best the Cyclones, leaving just four on base in the game. Sophia Clark went the distance for UC Santa Barbara, pitching all seven innings and fanning three.

How it Happened
Scoring started in the second inning, as ISU took an early 1-0 lead. A pair of walks and a single would load the bases for Andrews who sent a deep fly into center, plating one on a sac fly.

The Gauchos answered immediately in the bottom of the inning. Three singles would load the bases and tee up a two-out at-bat for Dani Rauscher. She slapped a 1-1 ball over a drawn-in ISU outfield for a triple to clear the bases and put the Gauchos up 3-1.

After two more scoreless frames, UC Santa Barbara tacked on four more in the fifth. With two outs, a single and a pair of walks loaded the bases. Back-to-back singles would result in four runs coming across as the Gauchos extended their lead to 7-1.

ISU made one last push in the seventh, but it was too little, too late. With the bases loaded and two outs, Johnson singled to left field to plate two before Kane singled to right to score two more. With a runner on first and the tying run at the plate, UCSB forced a groundout and walked away with a two-run win.

Saturday G2 Notes
Home Runs
Iowa State: N/A
UC Santa Barbara: N/A

WP – Sophia Clark (3-4): 7.0 IP, 8 hits, 5 runs, 4 walks, 3 strikeouts
SV – N/A
LP – Jaiden Ralston (1-2): 4.2 IP, 6 hits, 6 runs, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts

On Deck
The Cyclones will wrap their weekend in Santa Barbara tomorrow, March 1, against UCSB in the tournament finale. The Cyclones and Gauchos will square off at 12:30 CT, and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.