Iowa State at Tulsa Primer

Who: Iowa State (9-13, 0-3 Big 12) at Tulsa (15-7, 3-0 AAC)

Where: Collins Family Softball Complex (1,000) – Tulsa, Okla.

When: March 12 – 5 p.m.

Leading Off
Following the Big 12 Conference opening weekend in Norman, Iowa State will stay in the Sooner State and travel east to Tulsa for a Tuesday night meeting with the Golden Hurricane.

Head Coach Jamie Pinkerton is a Tulsa graduate and got his first chance to coach collegiately at TU.

Iowa State was swept over the weekend, as the top-ranked and three-time defending champion Sooners flexed its offensive prowess.

Tulsa on the other hand went 3-0 in its opening weekend of conference play, displacing Memphis in three straight games on the road. The Golden Hurricane currently sit atop the American Conference and have the third best record of any AAC team.

Quick Hits:

ISU has homered in 16 of its first 22 games of the season. Five of those 14 games featured multi-homer efforts from the Cyclones.
The Cyclones have used a fifth inning or later comeback in seven of its nine wins.
Iowa State has recorded double-digit runs in a game four times so far this season. It had only two such games in 2023.
Junior Angelina Allen ranks among the best hitters in the conference four weeks into the season and was awarded the Big 12 Player of the Week honor this past week, making her the first Cyclone since Sami Williams in 2021 to earn the award.
- Allen leads the league in batting average (.500), hits (39), doubles (9) and is second in homers (8).
- Allen is fifth in the Big 12 in RBI (26) and eighth in on-base percentage (.590).
  - Allen was also ranked as the fifth-best outfielder in the country by Softball America following her torrid start to the season.
Milaysia Ochoa broke the program record for most HBP over the weekend, being struck by her 29th pitch.
Alesia Ranches is tied for the third-most doubles in the league with seven. Both her and Ochoa are tied for the seventh-most walks with 15.

Leading the Cyclones
The aforementioned Allen leads the Cyclones in most every offensive category outside of runs, triples and walks drawn. Ochoa, a fellow team captain, has complimented Allen nicely to start the season. From the leadoff spot, Milaysia is hitting .377 with 15 walks drawn and four HBP – giving her an OBP of .506. Both Allen and Ochoa have over a .500 OBP.

Carli Spelhaug has the second-most homers on the team this season with four while Ranches and Ashley Minor – have three homers, tied for the third-most on the team. Three athletes are hitting above .300, as Olivia Wardlow joins Allen and Ochoa above the .300 mark.

All six pitchers on staff have taken the circle with senior Saya Swain leading the way. Swain has an early 4-1 record in seven appearances and 24 strikeouts to her name. Karlie Charles has a 5.37 ERA with 17 strikeouts of her own – the fourth most on the team. Freshman Lauren Schurman has 22 strikeouts across a team-high 34.1 innings pitched.

Opponent Outlook
Collectively, Tulsa is hitting .342 on the season and has five players with at least 25 hits. A pair of Golden Hurricane players hit above .400 – MacKenzie Denson and Imani Edwards – while Denson leads the team in hits, runs and triples.

Claira Skaggs has a team-best 10 doubles and 19 RBI, which is tied for second on the team. Edwards leads the squad with 20 RBI, recording 30 hits with a team-high 11 stolen bases.

In the circle, Tulsa has three pitchers who have made 10-plus appearances on the season. Anneca Anderson is a perfect 5-0, while Kylee Nash leads the team with a 3.00 ERA. All three pitchers have at least 30 strikeouts and over 35 innings pitched.

Series History
The Cyclones and Golden Hurricanes will meet for the ninth time on Tuesday, in a series that dates back to 1995. The two teams last met in 2018 as part of a tournament in Arkansas. Tulsa took game one before ISU run-ruled TU in six innings in the second meeting. The Golden Hurricane lead the all-time series, 5-3.

On Deck
Following six straight weeks on the road, the Cyclones will return home for their first home action of the 2024 season. ISU is set to welcome league newcomer Houston to the Cyclone Softball Complex for a trio of games spanning Friday to Sunday. The weekend opener is set for Friday, March 15 at 4 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Angelina Allen

Karlie Charles

Ashley Minor

Milaysia Ochoa

Alesia Ranches

Lauren Schurman

Carli Spelhaug

Saya Swain

Olivia Wardlow

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics