Iowa State rallies past Kansas, 3-2
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AMES, Iowa – With two outs to go, Iowa State spoiled Kansas’ shutout effort as the Cyclones stormed past the Jayhawks, 3-2, on Sunday afternoon at the Cyclone Sports Complex.
KU (24-28, 3-14 Big 12) scored two early runs and maintained the lead until the bottom of the seventh when the Cyclones (23-32, 6-12 Big 12) drove in three runs for the come-from-behind victory. Kansas outhit Iowa State, 6-5, for the second day in a row.
“Like I said before the weekend, it was going to be two equally matched teams and that’s what we saw with three one-run games,” said head coach Megan Smith. “Unfortunately for us, all three (games) went the other way. You have to give credit to them. They are scrappy and they didn’t give up, but we fought as well. We played really good defense today, but obviously not happy with the outcome. We have four seniors that we are really proud of and are going to miss tremendously next year. I hate that they had to end on a note like this, but the rest of us will get back to work.”
Kansas’ offense applied pressure right out of the gate in the series finale after senior Taylor McElhaney and junior Erin McGinley reached base with a hit by pitch and single, respectively. Junior outfielder Mikayla Warren kept the momentum swinging in KU’s favor and loaded the bases with an infield single. Senior infielder Taylor Dodson gave the Jayhawks a 2-0 lead with a two-RBI single to shallow left field.
Sophomore Alexis Reid opened her third start of the weekend with a scoreless inning. Reid worked her way out of a jam in the second, stranding two Cyclones runners on base as another scoreless inning came to an end. Reid sat the ISU batters down in order in the third to the fifth frame for nine-straight batters in a row. She tossed six and one-third shutout innings before the Cyclones were able to get their offense going. Reid struck out two, while giving up five hits and three earned runs in the loss.
McGinley and junior infielder Amanda Organ both record multi-hit performances after recording 2-for-3 efforts at the plate. KU’s offense left seven runners on base during the final regular-season game of 2017.
In the bottom of the seventh, Iowa State rallied for three runs to earn the series sweep. A ground out drove in the first, while a triple brought home the tying run and put the go ahead run on third base. Infielder Sami Williams singled through the left side, allowing the game-winning run to cross home plate. Williams’ RBI-single lifted Iowa State past Kansas, 3-2.
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