Cyclones Fall in Season Opener

Friday, February 6

Cedar Falls, Iowa

10 a.m.

Iowa State

0-1

Omaha

1-0

Iowa St.

Omaha

Photo by: Iowa State Athletics

02.06.2026 | Softball

Box Score Box Score (.pdf)

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Iowa State (0-0) fell in the 2026 season-opener, as it lost in six innings to Omaha (1-0) by a score of 5-13 at the Doc Halverson UNI-Dome Classic.

The Mavericks broke the game open with a five-run third, taking advantage of six Cyclone walks to fuel the base paths. ISU had three home runs on the day, but all were solo shots as the offense couldn't keep up with UNO.

Six Cyclones collected hits, with Sydney Malott, Kadence Shepherd and Reagan Bartholomew all blasting home runs. Karlee Ford notched her first career triple, while Jessie Clemons recorded her first double of the year. Tatum Johnson had the team's sixth and final hit, a single, which drove in a run. Isabelle Nosan also had an RBI for ISU as she had a sacrifice fly.

Lauren Schurman got the start for the Cyclones, pitching two and a third innings. Ava Mullen made her ISU debut, pitching three innings. Jaiden Ralston was the third and final ISU pitcher to see the circle, entering in the sixth inning.

The Omaha offense saw two athletes, Sammy Schmidt (3) and Taylor Seclacek (2), have multi-hit games. Katherine Johnson, Schmidt and Bailey Sample each had homers for UNO, accounting for six of the team's runs. Maddia Groff was the story though for UNO, as the lefty went the distance. In six frames, Groff fanned seven and allowed six hits.

How it Happened
Omaha got on the board first, as a one-out walk turned into a two-run homer for Bailey Sample. The Mavericks would exit the first inning with a two-nothing advantage.

After a scoreless second from each team, the Cyclones evened things up in the third. Malott launched a leadoff homer to put ISU on the board. After back-to-back outs, Clemons doubled to right-center to give Iowa State a baserunner. A bloop single from Johnson would score Clemons and make it two-all.

A three-walk, three-hit bottom of the third allowed Omaha to plate five and regain a 7-2 advantage.

The Cyclones tried to change the momentum in the fourth, as Ford led off with a triple – the first of her career – to put ISU in business. A sacrifice fly from Nosan would plate Ford, making it 7-3. Next at the plate was Shepherd, who cranked her first career home run over the "Purple Monster" to make it 7-4.

ISU held UNO in check in the bottom of the fourth, but the Mavericks would plate another three runs on three hits in the fifth innings, taking advantage of a Cyclone error.

Bartholomew started the sixth with a solo blast, the team's third of the day, but that was it for the Cyclone bats.

UNO would send a three-run homer over the fence in the bottom of the sixth to earn a run-rule victory in the opener.

Friday Notes
Home Runs
Iowa State: Sydney Malott (1), Kadence Shepherd (1), Reagan Bartholomew (1)
Omaha: Bailey Sample (1), Katherine Johnson (1), Sammy Schmidt (1)

WP – Maddia Groff (1-0): 6.0 IP, 6 hits, 5 runs, 0 walks, 7 strikeouts
SV – N/A
LP – Lauren Schurman (0-1): 2.1 IP, 4 hits, 7 runs, 6 walks, 2 strikeouts