AMES, Iowa ñ A two-run home run by Erica Miller in the bottom of the sixth inning pushed Iowa State to a 4-3 victory over the No. 17 Oklahoma State Cowgirls Saturday afternoon. |AMES, Iowa ñ A two-run home run by Erica Miller in the bottom of the sixth inning pushed Iowa State to a 4-3 victory over the No. 17 Oklahoma State Cowgirls Saturday afternoon at the Southwest Athletic Complex. The win was Iowa State’s first over a ranked opponent since April 22, 2009 when they won at No. 10 Missouri 4-3 and the first home win over a ranked opponent since upsetting No. 22 Oklahoma on April 22, 2006.
Iowa State improves to 15-8 on the season and 1-0 in Big 12 play. Oklahoma State is now 27-7 on the season and 0-1 in Big 12 play.
Down 3-2 with a runner on second and two outs in the bottom of the sixth, Miller completed a 10-pitch at bat with a home run over the centerfield wall. The homer was the third of Miller’s season and, after dingers by Heidi Kidwell and Tori Torrescano earlier in the game, the first time Iowa State recorded three home runs in a game since April 15, 2008 against Nebraska.
Kidwell was the first Cyclone to the plate for the day and sent a one-and-one count pitch just over the right field wall to give Iowa State a 1-0 advantage. It was the second home run of her career and the first since March of 2009 for the junior.
Iowa State added a second run in the fourth inning when Torrescano took a two-and-zero count over the left-centerfield wall to double the Cyclone lead. The home run was her fourth of the season.
The Cyclones saw their 2-0 lead evaporate with one swing of the bat in the top of the sixth as Garcia sent a one-and-one count pitch over the centerfield wall to give the Cowgirls a 3-2 lead.
After Miller put the Cyclones back on top, the squad had a nervous bottom of the seventh. Zabriskie gave up a single to Ari Morrison to lead off the frame. Morrison stole second and advanced to third on catcher Amandine Habben’s throwing error. Zabriskie responded, calming the nerves and forcing a foul pop up and striking out the next batter. After a Chelsea Garcia walk, Zabriskie got Tamara Brown to fly out to centerfield to end the game.
Zabriskie picked up the win for the Cyclones to improve to 9-4 on the season. The senior pitched all seven innings, allowing eight hits and three earned runs and three walks while striking out six. Oklahoma State’s Kat Espinosa (14-3) picked up the loss, allowing five hits and four earned runs in six innings of work while striking out six.
