AMES, Iowa – A season-high 14 hits fueled a series-clinching 9-2 victory for the No. 19/20 Oklahoma State softball team over Iowa State at the Cyclone Sports Complex Sunday.
The Cowgirls improved to 27-11 overall and 9-6 in Big 12 play, with the Cyclones falling to 24-17 overall and 5-10 in conference. The win was OSU's 10th in its last 12 games and secured the Cowgirls' third consecutive Big 12 series win, following previous weekend series victories over BYU and Utah.
Ruby Meylan improved to 17-6 with her 11th complete game of the season. A two-run home run from Tatum Johnson with two outs in the fifth marked the only runs that Iowa State was able to muster against the OSU All-American. Jaiden Ralston (1-5) took the loss for the Cyclones.
Production throughout the lineup was key in Sunday's victory, with eight Cowgirls getting at least one hit and four contributing with multi-hit performances, headlined by a 3-for-3 performance from shortstop Aubrey Jones, who produced her second three-hit day of the weekend. OSU's 14 hits in the contest marked the eighth time in the last 11 games that the Cowgirls have recorded nine or more hits in a game.
Jayelle Austin opened the scoring with a two-run single in the second inning. Tia Warsop added an RBI single in the third, then came around to score on a two-run home run from Jones in the very next at-bat. Amanda Hasler blew the game open with a three-run shot in the fourth inning.
The Cowgirls were one out away from claiming a run-rule victory, but Johnson's home run in the bottom of the fifth kept the Cyclones alive. Following a scoreless sixth, Claire Timm added to the Pokes' advantage with an RBI double in the seventh that capped the scoring.
Beginning Wednesday, OSU embarks on a five-game stretch that includes a nonconference matchup against No. 2 Oklahoma in Devon Park in Oklahoma City, a three-game weekend series in Stillwater with No. 12 Arizona and a midweek trip to Austin for a date with No. 4 Texas.
