Bartholomew’s heroics save Cyclones in rivalry game

Q: What was the final score of the Iowa State vs. Iowa rivalry game?

Iowa State won the game with a final score of 9-7.

Q: Who hit the game-winning home run for Iowa State?

Reagan Bartholomew hit the game-winning two-run homer for Iowa State.

Q: How many home runs were hit in the Iowa State vs. Iowa game?

A total of five home runs were hit during the game.

Q: What were the win-loss records of Iowa State and Iowa before the game?

Iowa State had a record of 23-15, while Iowa had a record of 21-17 before the game.

IOWA CITY — While the rain appeared heavy at times on the Big Ten Network stream it was a case of “when it rains, it pours” as Iowa State (23-15, 4-8 Big 12) and Iowa (21-17, 5-10 Big Ten) combined for five home runs, punctuated by Reagan Bartholomew’s game-winning two-run homer to deep center field in the top of the seventh that secured the 9-7 victory for the Cyclones at Pearl Field on Wednesday.

Serayah Neiss was tagged with the loss, her fifth of the season, while Lauren Schurman earned the win – her 13th of the season – for the Cyclones after retiring the Hawkeyes in order in the bottom of the seventh.

Early Defensive Stands

The game began as a defensive struggle, with neither team scoring in the first two innings. In the top of the first, Iowa’s defense ended a threat when catcher Leah McAnally threw out Jessie Clemons at second base for a caught stealing. The Cyclones responded on defense in the second inning when Kadence Shepherd, Reagan Bartholomew, and Sydney Malott combined for a double play to neutralize an Iowa walk.

Third Inning Offensive Explosion

The scoring erupted in the third inning as Iowa State built a four-run lead. After McKenna Andrews drew a walk, Tatum Johnson hit a two-run home run to deep right field.

T3 | Tower Power from Tatum 💪💪

The senior puts us 🔛🔝

🌪️🥎🌪️ | @tatum_johnsonnn pic.twitter.com/iEAFoIyUdK

— Iowa State Softball (@CycloneSB) April 8, 2026

Reagan Bartholomew followed with a double, setting the stage for Kadence Shepherd to launch another two-run home run, extending the lead to 4-0.

T3 | @ShepherdKadence with a 💣 of her own!

Second two-run blast of the frame puts us up four 😎

🌪️🥎🌪️ pic.twitter.com/Oz3jPGAePf

— Iowa State Softball (@CycloneSB) April 8, 2026

This prompted Iowa to replace starting pitcher Avery Sapp with Carly Brewer.

Iowa responded immediately in the bottom of the third. After a walk to Brianna Johnson and a single by Devin Simon, Tory Bennett hit a three-run home run to deep left field, cutting the deficit to 4-3.

This surge led Iowa State to make their own pitching change, bringing in Lauren Schurman for Jaiden Ralston.

Mid-Game Lead Changes

In the fourth inning, Iowa State added an unearned run when Ames native Ireland Buss scored during a caught-stealing sequence involving Andrews.

However, Iowa leveled the score at 5-5 in the bottom half when the 2024-25 Iowa Gatorade Softball Player of the Year Mariah Myers hit a two-run home run that scored Nailyn Marshall.

The Cyclones reclaimed the lead in the fifth inning. Tatum Johnson and Reagan Bartholomew both singled to start the inning, eventually leading to a sacrifice fly by Sydney Malott and an RBI double by Karlee Ford to make the score 7-5.

T5 | Karlee doing Karlee things 🫡

Her second hit of the day drives in Shep to put us in front by two.

🌪️🥎🌪️ | @KarleeFord2 pic.twitter.com/F2V4yK4uQD

— Iowa State Softball (@CycloneSB) April 8, 2026

The Hawkeyes continued to fight back, using an RBI single by Kiara Sipe in the fifth and an RBI single by Brianna Johnson in the sixth—following a double by Mariah Myers—to tie the game once more at 7-7.

The Decisive Seventh

The deadlock was broken in the top of the seventh inning. After Tatum Johnson led off with a single, Reagan Bartholomew hit a go-ahead two-run home run to deep center field off relief pitcher Neiss.

T7 | Who else but @reagbart23⁉️

The senior puts us in front!

🌪️🥎🌪️ pic.twitter.com/BsbOU8j7KZ

— Iowa State Softball (@CycloneSB) April 9, 2026

In the bottom of the seventh, Lauren Schurman retired the Hawkeyes in order to secure the victory. Schurman forced Tory Bennett, Kiara Sipe, and Leah McAnally into three consecutive groundouts to end the game.