DES MOINES, Iowa – In a back-and-forth game in the state’s capital, Iowa State (19-28) defeated in-state foe Drake (21-24) at Buel Field on Wednesday afternoon in a wet, damp afternoon affair.

The Cyclones looked like they were going to run away with things early, plating five first-inning runs as the first five batters all reached – four of them via doubles. Drake snatched all the momentum back in the fourth, using its highest single-inning output of the season to plate eight and take the lead. A three-run ISU bomb in the fifth tied things up before a Milaysia Ochoa run on a wild pitch sealed the deal in the sixth.

Both Ochoa and Tatum Johnson had two hits on the day, while Ashly Minor drew a pair of free passes. Carli Spelhaug had a team-high three RBI – all coming on her seventh homer of the season in the fifth – while Angelina Allen, Alesia Ranches, Johnson and Tiana Poole all tallied one RBI.

Four Cyclones saw action in the circle, with Tatum Johnson getting the start. Johnson allowed two pitched three innings before being relieved by Aziza Rodriguez. After Rodriguez came Karlie Charles (4-7) who went for 1.2 innings. Charles gave up one run on two hits before Jaiden Ralston (3) closed things down. Ralston, who picked up the save, fanned four of her six batters faced and locked down the Bulldog bats.

Drake’s Frankie Rita had a game-high three hits on the day while Aby Martin had three RBI and Skylar Rigby had three walks drawn. Destiny Lewis and Carey Koenig also had multi-hit games for the Bulldogs as Drake outhit the Cyclones on the night, 10-7.

Drake used three pitchers on the evening, as Emma Richards (1-1) was the pitcher of record. Richards tossed 1.2 frames and allowed one run on a wild pitch. Emma Dighton pitched the seventh, allowing no hits in her three batters faced, securing a strikeout.

How it Happened

Iowa State came out of the gates swinging, rattling off three straight doubles, courtesy of Ochoa, Allen and Ranches, to start the game and going up 2-0. Following a Minor walk, Tatum Johnson picked up where Ranches left off, doubling to right center and plating a third run of the inning and advancing Minor to third. Ashley would then score on a wild pitch with Johnson moving to third before a Tiana Poole groundout brought in a fifth and final run.

The next two frames went scoreless, as neither team was able to bring runs in. The Bulldogs were able to put two aboard in the third, gathering their first hits  of the game, but stranded them both as the game turned to the fourth.

After holding the Cyclone bats in check again, Drake exploded for its most productive inning of the season, plating eight runs and taking an 8-5 lead. The innings featured four homers form the Bulldogs, two of which came from Carey Koenig who led the frame off with a long ball before coming back around and doing it again. All eight of the Bulldog runs would come in the fourth.

In the fifth, ISU came right back swinging. Minor drew her second walk of the game and a Tiana Poole single put runners on first and second. Then, stepping up to the plate with one out and two on, Spelhaug clobbered a ball into left center to knot the game up at eight apiece.

After holding Drake to just a hit in the fifth, Iowa State notched the game-winning run in the sixth thanks to some heads-up baserunning. An Ochoa single and Allen walk put runners on first and second. Both were able to advance on a wild pitch and then an at-bat later, did so again with Ochoa coming home on the second passed ball of the inning.

Jaiden Ralston would enter for the Cyclones in the bottom of the sixth and completely shut down the Bulldogs. Ralston rung up the side in the sixth and tacked on one more K in the seventh as she collected her third save of the season as ISU hit win number 19.

On Deck

Iowa State will be back in action this weekend, when it welcomes UCF to the Cyclone Sports Complex for the regular season series finale. The Cyclones and Knights will wrap Big 12 play playing a three-game set with action beginning on Friday at 4 p.m. All weekend action will be streamed live on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The University of Iowa softball team fell to Northern Iowa, 6-5, on Wednesday afternoon at the Robinson-Dresser Sports Complex.

The Hawkeyes had Jena Young and Tory Bennett reach in the first on back-to-back singles, but both were left stranded as UNI got out of the jam. Sophomore Jalen Adams got her 23^rd start of the season in the circle. She retired the Panthers in order in the bottom of the first with the help of a caught stealing by catcher Skylinn Pogue.

Iowa had two runners reach in the third and senior Sammy Diaz cashed in with an RBI single to take the lead, 1-0. Senior Brylee Klosterman followed that up with a single of her own to score Young from third. Pogue extended the Hawkeye lead as two crossed home a single up the middle to make it, 4-0.

The Hawkeyes added another run in the fourth as Grace Banes came home on a sac fly from Bennett to extend their lead to five. The Panthers loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the fifth. They plated three runs to cut the Iowa lead to two as freshman Andrea Jaskowiak took over in the circle with one out and the bases still loaded. Jaskowiak got out of the jam to send the game to the sixth with Iowa leading, 5-3.

UNI got within one on a leadoff home run to start the home half of the sixth. Junior Haley Downe entered in relief with a runner on first and no outs. The Panthers tied the game on an RBI double and then took the lead, 6-5, on a wild pitch. Iowa managed to get one runner on in the top of the seventh but could not push the run across as the Panthers secured the game.

Iowa (16-27, 4-16) travels to Champaign, Ill. this weekend for the final Big Ten series of the season. Game one against the Fighting Illini will be on Friday May 3 at 5 p.m. CT.

Ames, Iowa – Matt Leach, who has spent the past six seasons as the Head Swimming Coach at Washington State University, has been named the fifth head coach of the Iowa State Swimming & Diving program, Senior Associate Director of Athletics Dr. Calli Sanders announced today.

“We are thrilled to welcome Matt, Katie, and their children, Eloise and Arlo, back to the Midwest and to our Cyclone family,” Sanders said.  “We believe Matt embodies the perfect blend of characteristics and experiences that we were looking for in our next head coach, bringing Power 5 head coaching experience, a commitment to the whole student-athlete, and boundless energy, to our program. His enthusiasm for joining our community and leading our swimming and diving program was undeniable throughout the entire interview process, and he has a clear vision for the future of the Cyclone Swimming & Diving program.”

Leach inherited a Washington State program that hadn’t produced an NCAA Championship qualifier in nearly a decade prior to his arrival in Pullman and promptly turned it into one that produced an NCAA qualifier every year (excluding the 2020 season when the NCAA Championships were canceled due to COVID) during his six-year tenure in Pullman, including the Cougars’ first NCAA Championship scorer in some 17 seasons in 2024. WSU finished tied for 40^that the 2024 NCAA Championships and scored points for only the sixth time in program history.

Washington State produced one of the most impressive performances in the program history at the 2024 Pac-12 Conference Championships. The Cougars recorded 21 WSU Top 10 times, including six school records and a pair of medals, while as a team, WSU totaled 498.5 points to register the program’s second-highest point total since 1987 (Pac-10/12 era).

All-told, Leach’s WSU program saw five NCAA Championship qualifiers, its first-ever PAC-12 Conference individual champion and 60 Pac-12 Winter Academic Honor Roll members.

“I am honored to be the next Head Swimming and Diving Coach at Iowa State University,” Leach said. “Coach (Duane) Sorenson has been an absolute pillar of this program and I am thrilled to be named his successor. I want to sincerely wish him well in his retirement and hope to see him on the pool deck.

“I would like to thank President Wendy Wintersteen, Jamie Pollard and Calli Sanders for allowing me to lead the next generation of Cyclones,” he added. “I am humbled and extremely excited to get to work and help lead, grow, and inspire these student-athletes into the next chapter of success. Go Cyclones!”

Before taking over as Washington State’s head coach, Leach spent three seasons at Indiana State, where he started the Sycamore women’s program from scratch in 2015 and hit the water the following year. In the program’s second competitive season, he was honored as the 2017-18 Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year after guiding ISU to a 13-win campaign that featured a 10-dual match win streak and a record-setting team performance at the Missouri Valley Conference Championships where it set school records in every event, highlighted by the program’s first individual conference champion. Nine Sycamores earned All-MVC honors, including a trio of first-team selections.

Leach went to Indiana State after spending six seasons at the University of Wyoming (2009-15), including the last four as the program’s associate head coach, and worked extensively with sprint swimmers. His group helped rewrite the Cowgirl record books, as every spring event school record was broken during his time at the Laramie institution. He also coached sprint swimmers to NCAA and Olympic trials competitions at Wyoming, including two-time All-America selection Kelsey Conci who earned trips to the NCAA Championships in the 100 backstroke and the 50 and 100 freestyle, placing 10th in the 100 backstroke at the 2011 NCAA Championships and ninth at the 2012 championships.

He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant coach at Louisiana State in 2004, and then spent two seasons (2007-09) as a volunteer assistant coach on the Tigers’ staff. Leach coached several athletes to the NCAA Championships, and a Top 25 ranking for the men’s and women’s teams. He also served as the head age group coach at Tiger Aquatics from 2006-09 and was named the 2007 Louisiana State Age Group Coach of the Year for his efforts in his rookie season.

The Portland, Ore., native swam collegiately at Indiana University (2000-04), where he was a four-time All-American. He helped the Hoosiers to a Big Ten Conference title in the 200-medley relay as a senior and still holds school records as a member of the 200-freestyle relay and 400- medley relay. Leach also competed at the 2000 and 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials.

He graduated from Indiana in December 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in environmental management and received his master’s degree, also in environmental planning and management, from LSU in May 2007. Leach and his wife, Katie, who hails from Springfield, Ill., have one daughter, Eloise, and one son, Arlo.

Leach starts his duties in Ames on May 13 and replaces Duane Sorenson, who is retiring from the University next month after leading the Cyclone swim program for 27 years.