Iowa State Softball Wins Extra Inning Intrastate Battle vs. Northern Iowa

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - The Iowa State softball team defeated intrastate rival Northern Iowa 5-4 in nine innings Thursday afternoon at Panther Park. The win snapped a seven-game losing skid for the Cyclones and helped improve their overall record to 14-15. Erica Martinez, Katie Ruby and Kelly Wardein all had at least two hits on the day, with Wardein leading the way going 3-for-4 at the plate.

Lindsey Herrin got the start, just her second appearance on the mound this season, but it was Martinez who pitched the final five innings to get the win and improve to 7-8 on the year. Herrin finished the afternoon after working the opening three stanzas, she held UNI scoreless on just two hits before being relieved by Jen Bice in the bottom of the fourth. Bice worked just one inning before give way to Martinez. Martinez fanned nine batters and allowed three runs to score on five hits.

After a scoreless first inning the Cyclones took the lead, scoring two runs in the top of the second. Singles by Laura Browning and Adi Blackmon drove in the runs. The Panthers cut ISU's lead in half when Melissa Larson drove in teammate Lindsey Gierman. Bice, the Cyclone pitcher at the time, held UNI to just one run in that inning forcing Tanya Miller to ground out for the third out.

The Cyclones held onto their one run lead through the fifth and were able to extend it back out to a two-run margin as Ruby scored on a error by Northern Iowa. Ruby had led off the inning with a single to left field to get on base. UNI answered right back though scoring a single run of its own in the bottom of the sixth and then tied the game the next inning on a homer by Tracy Davis. ISU's Martinez regained her composer striking out the final two Panther batters to get the game into extra innings.

The first extra stanza went by quietly as the game remained a 3-3 tie. In the top of the ninth the Cyclones had their backs against the wall as the first two ISU batters of the inning had recorded outs. UNI should have gotten out the inning allowing no runs to score but an error by the shortstop kept things alive for Iowa State. Following the error, Martinez tripled scoring Blackmon and then a single by Herrin plated Martinez to give the Cyclones a two-run advantage.

Northern Iowa kept it exciting with a lead off single in the bottom of the ninth. The Panther runner advance to second on a wild pitch one out later and eventually came in to score on a single by Angela Higgins. Martinez stifled the Panther come back, recording her eighth and ninth strikeouts of the game to secure the win for ISU.

Iowa State has a much needed day off before heading to Waco, Texas for a weekend series at Baylor. The first game of the two game series is Saturday with the first pitch coming at 2 p.m.