AMES, Iowa - Samantha Valentine and Julie DePolo each went 3-for-6 with a run scored as Western Illinois fell 4-1 and 3-1 in a double header against Big 12 Iowa State, Tuesday.

The Cyclones (22-11) used three home runs to take a 4-1 victory over the Westerwinds (3-16) in game one.

"Our defense was our strong point today," head coach Holly Van Vlymen said. "At the plate we need to continue to go after good pitches and stay aggressive throughout the game."

With two outs in the first inning, Valentine hit a grounder to the third baseman, who couldn't get her glove on it, for a single. A walk advanced Valentine to second and a DePolo single up the middle scored Valentine for the first run of the game.

The Cyclones worked to tie the game in the bottom half of the inning with runners on first and second as Courtney Jacobson struck out the batter for the second out of the inning and a fly out to Britt Mason maintained the 1-0 Western Illinois lead.

Iowa State's Courtney Wray hit a home run into the wind of right field to tie the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the third inning.

The game remain tied until the bottom of the fifth inning when the Cyclones' Sara Stinson homered over the left-field fence to take the lead for the first time in the game.

A two-run home run by Iowa State's Jacquelyn Beatty secured the Cyclones' lead at 4-1 in the sixth inning as Western Illinois pulled Colleen Biebel from right field to relieve Jacobson (1-4) in the circle.

"Iowa State has a great hitting team and the wind was a huge factor for our pitchers today," Van Vlymen said. "Colleen did a great job on relief for Courtney, who did a nice job overall."

Jacobson suffered the loss in five innings of work, while Iowa State's Amie Ford recorded the win. Ford (4-3) held the Westerwinds to five hits while the Cyclones had eight hits.

Valentine was 2-for-3, Racheal Heagney was 1-for-2 and Anna Nelson was 1-for-3 with a double.

A home run and back-to-back RBI singles gave the Cyclones a 3-1 victory over the Westerwinds in game two.

It looked as though the Westerwinds were going to take an early lead in the second inning of game two as DePolo tripled to right field and Michelle Prieto singled and stole second, but both runners were left stranded as three-straight outs ended the inning scoreless.

Iowa State responded in the bottom half of the inning with a Sydni Jones home run to right field, which gave the Cyclones a 1-0 lead over the Westerwinds.

Pitcher Lori Pankratz walked three batters with one out to load the bases in the bottom of the fifth. The Cyclones' Alex Johnson singled to right field to score the runner on third. A fielder's choice from Lauren Furgala to DePolo allowed another run to score but put out the runner on third. Another single loaded the bases, but Pankratz (0-3) got out of the jam as she struck out the final batter of the inning with Iowa State leading, 3-0.

"This was a solid game for Lori," Van Vlymen said. "It was great to see her complete the game in the circle."

DePolo led off the seventh inning with a single to second base and advanced to second on a play at first. Rachel Sinks hit an RBI single to second base to score DePolo and prevent a Western Illinois shutout.

Iowa State's Charissa Carlin recorded her second save on the day as Rachel Zabriskie was credited with the win. Pankratz suffered the loss.

The Western Illinois softball team will travel to Oakland for a three-game conference series against Oakland, March 29-30.