AMES, Iowa - Iowa State beat Western Illinois softball 10-6 in a non-league game in Ames on Saturday (April 29). The Leathernecks fall to 19-28 after the defeat, while the Cyclones improve to 20-32.
Due to the field conditions and weather forecast, game two of the doubleheader was canceled.
Western Illinois jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first. Kelsey Marlow tripled to right center field to plate Nina Maggio for the first run of the game. A couple batters later, Payton Abbott lined a single to left field making it 2-0 Leathernecks in the top of the first. The Leathernecks were not done yet in the opening frame as Sam Ralphs sent a pop up to the Iowa State third baseman Talyn Lewis who dropped it allowing two more runs to score.
Iowa State answered with four runs of its own in the bottom of the first. Megan Lotarski earned the start in the circle for Western in her first appearance of the year for WIU. With two outs a wild pitch to the backstop brought around the first Cyclone run of the ball game. One batter later, ISU's Megan Schweitzer dove into first base safely for an infield single. Still in the first, Kaylee Bosworth drove the ball to left field where it bounced off of the glove of Sam Ralphs for two more Cyclone runs to tie the game at 4-4.
Lotarski lasted two thirds of an inning before Emily Ira entered the game in relief.
In the bottom of the third, Bosworth broke the tie on a two-run homer over the left field fence handing Iowa State a 6-4 lead.
The Leathernecks knotted things up again in the top of the fourth when they loaded up the bases and Taylor Messer beat out a force play at home on a Rachel Beatty ground ball. Maggio then delivered the game tying hit with no outs when she singled to left field. With the bases loaded, a triple play ended the inning when Marlow hit a hard line drive to the first baseman Nychole Antillon who snagged it, stepped on first and threw the ball to third to put out Jasmine Lara who was heading home.
After four innings, the game was tied at 6 and the rain began to pick up forcing an hour rain delay. Â
Once play resumed, Bosworth unloaded her second home run of the game in the bottom of the fifth, a two-run shot to left field putting Iowa State in front 8-6.
The Cyclones struck again with two outs on a Talyn Lewis two-run single up the middle making it a 10-6 advantage for Iowa State in the bottom of the sixth.
Western put two runners on in the top of the seventh inning but could not bring them around.
Ira was saddled with the loss and is now 10-13 on the year. In three innings of relief, Brianna Weilbacher earned the win for Iowa State.
Beatty, Maggio, Marlow and Abbott all recorded an RBI for Western. Maggio, Abbott and Messer each picked up two hits. Kaylee Bosworth hit two home runs and drove in four Cyclone runs.
The first-place Leathernecks close out Summit League play in a three-game series at South Dakota State starting with a doubleheader on Saturday (May 6) at noon.
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