VERMILLION, S.D. — The University of South Dakota softball team is primed for their second meeting with the Iowa State Cyclones this season in a midweek clash from the Cyclone Softball Complex in Ames, Iowa on Tuesday, April 14.
 
GAME #40: South Dakota (10-28-1, 2-7 Summit) at Iowa State (24-17, 5-10 Big 12)
Where: Cyclone Softball Complex (2,000) | Ames, Iowa
When: Tuesday, April 14 | 4 p.m. (CT)
Watch: ESPN+ ($)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
 
LAST TIME OUT: NORTH DAKOTA STATE
South Dakota fell in all three games to the Bison this past weekend at Nygaard Field. The Yotes built early leads in both Game 2 and Game 3, before NDSU bats got hot later in the game.
 
Brooke Carey hit .556 (5-for-9) in the series to lead the offense, with both her and Sara Iburg each driving in a pair of runs. Carey and Delaney White both had a double in the series.
 
Madison Evans made two starts in the circle over the weekend (G1, G3) and threw 13.1 innings. She struck out 11 and allowed nine earned runs with an ERA of 4.73 over the series.
 
COYOTE ROUND-UP
Junior Brooke Carey continues to pace the Coyote offense with her bat. She leads the team with a .380 batting average with sits top-5 in the Summit League, while having 10 doubles and two home runs. She also leads the Yotes with her 46 hits, .427 on-base percentage.
 
Sara Iburg has driven in a team-best 20 RBI on the campaign, while also leading the way with her five home runs heading to Ames. Iburg is also second on the team with her six stolen bases (6-for-9) with Kiya Johnson right behind her with five (5-for-6).  
 
IN THE CIRCLE
Madison Evans has paced the pitching staff this season, appearing in 23 games with 20 starts. She paces the entire Summit League in innings pitched (120.2), strike outs (113), complete games in the circle (11). Despite her record of 6-13, Evans has proved to be a reliable arm in the circle with her 113 punch outs to get out of jams.
 
Both Peyton Paulsen and Campbell German have been options this season for Wagner, both sitting with 19 appearances and eight starts. The duo have each worked 40+ innings on the year.
 
ABOUT IOWA STATE
Iowa State enters the second contest between the two with a 24-17 overall record. The Cyclones have hit a roadblock into Big 12 play with a 5-10 league mark. ISU hosted No. 19-ranked Oklahoma State this past weekend in a Big 12 showdown with the Cowgirls taking two of three from the Cyclones. Iowa State took a 12-0 (F/5) in Game 2 on Friday in a doubleheader.
 
The Cyclone bats are led by senior Reagan Bartholomew with a .437 clip (55 hits in 126 at-bats), good for T6th in the Big 12 this season. She paces ISU with 12 home runs, being one of three Cyclones with 10+ long balls on the season. Jessie Clemons is the team-leader with her 19 doubles and nine stolen bases (9-for-11).
 
In the circle, it's Lauren Schurman who has 33 appearances and 15 starts. She holds a 14-5 record with a 3.81 ERA over 110.1 innings of work. Additionally, Ava Mullen (3-4, 5.52 ERA, 52.0 IP), Jaiden Ralston (1-5, 5.03 ERA, 47.1 IP), and Liv Palumbo (3-4, 6.78 ERA, 42.1 IP) have all had 40+ innings of work in the circle.
 
Back in the March meeting, the Coyotes saw arms of Ralston (3.0 IP), Palumbo (3.1 IP), and Mullen (0.2 IP) with Palumbo picking up the victory.
 
LAST MEETING WITH THE CYCLONES
[BOX SCORE]
The Cyclones won the first meeting earlier this season, 9-4, down in Columbia, Missouri in March. South Dakota got the first two runs on the board and lead 2-0 after two innings. The Cyclones scored nine unanswered runs to take a 9-4 lead. The Yotes got a couple runs back as the "home" team in the bottom of the seventh, falling 9-4. Kiya Johnson, batting leadoff, went 2-for-4 with an RBI in the seventh inning. Both Autumn Iversen and Sara Iburg drove in runs in the eight and nine holes in the contest.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Iowa State leads the all-time series 9-1 in the 10 previous meetings as the two sides meet for the 11^th time on Tuesday afternoon.
 
The midweek clash will be the eighth meeting between the two in Ames with Iowa State leading 6-1 on their home field. South Dakota's only win in the series was in Ames back on April 22, 2014, with a 12-3 win in the tail end of the doubleheader.