PRIMER: Iowa State at Baylor

Who: Iowa State (13-6, 0-0 Big 12) at Baylor (14-6, 0-0 Big 12)

Where: Getterman Stadium (1,250) – Waco, Texas

When: March 6 – 6:30 am // March 7 – 2:30 pm // March 8 – 12 pm

Leading Off
The Cyclones are set to start conference play this weekend as they head south to face Baylor on Big 12-opening weekend. ISU closed its 2025 conference slate against Baylor and will open its 2026 slate the same way. It's the first time Iowa State will face the same Big 12 school in consecutive series since 2003-04 when ISU faced Texas Tech.

The Cyclones head to Waco for their fifth-straight week on the road. ISU enters Big 12 play having won eight of its last 10 outings and coming off a 3-2 weekend in Santa Barbara. The Cyclones went .500 or better in each early-season non-conference tournament for the first time since 2021.

The Bears enter the first weekend of conference play coming off a 2-2 week, which saw them drop a pair to McNeese before besting the Cowgirls in game three and downing Stephen F. Austin in a midweek.

Scouting the Cyclones
Through four weeks, Iowa State is off to the most prolific offensive start in school history. The team has its most runs scored, hits and highest batting average through 19 games in program history. ISU holds the second-best batting average in the conference behind No. 2 TTU.

Reagan Bartholomew (.426), Sydney Malott (.423), Jessie Clemons (.412) and Tiana Poole (.400) are four of just 22 Big 12 players batting over .400. Only No. 2 Texas Tech (5) has more players doing so. Clemons leads the team in hits (28) and doubles (9), while Tatum Johnson leads in RBI (25).

In the circle, five Cyclones have seen action. Jaiden Ralston leads the way with a team-low ERA of 3.44. Lauren Schurman has hurled 43.1 innings, a team-high, and owns 28 punchouts, also a team-high. Freshman Liv Palumbo (5-1) and Michigan State transfer Ava Mullen (2-1) round out the main quartet of pitchers for ISU.

The Cyclones own a .352 batting average and have produced 150 runs on 187 hits. The team has 71 extra-base hits with 140 RBI and has drawn 75 walks. ISU holds a collective 4.08 ERA and fields the ball at a .971 clip.

Opponent Outlook
Senior outfielder Brooklyn Carter leads the Bears at the plate, as she is batting a team-best .413 and holds a .481 OBP, also the most on the team. Fellow senior Amber Toven has the most hits (23) and RBI (20) on the squad.

Baylor has 14 athletes who've played in the field for at least ten games this season. Nine of those 14 are underclassmen as the Bears have one of the youngest teams in the league.

Baylor has three pitchers who hold an ERA under four, as Sadie Ross has a team-low 2.66. Cambree Creager (38) and Peyton Tanner (34) lead the team in strikeouts, while both are the only two on the team to have made double-figure appearances so far this season.

Overall, the Bears are hitting .308 and have produced 99 runs on 156 hits. The team has 43 extra-base hits with 90 RBI, while drawing 57 walks. BU holds a collective 3.34 ERA and fields the ball at a .961 clip.

Series History
The Cyclones and Bears have faced off 74 times prior to this weekend, with Baylor holding a 48-26 all-time advantage. ISU is 6-3 against BU in Waco under Coach Pinkerton and is 14-7 overall across the last 21 meetings, earning four series wins during that time.

On Deck
Iowa State will spend its conference "bye week" in Columbia next weekend as it heads to Mizzou for its final non-conference tournament of the regular season. ISU will face Missouri, South Dakota, and Minnesota in the three-game event, which will span from Friday to Saturday.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Reagan Bartholomew

Jessie Clemons

Tatum Johnson

Sydney Malott

Ava Mullen

Liv Palumbo

Tiana Poole

Jaiden Ralston

Lauren Schurman

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics