—Photo courtesy of Arizona softball Fort Dodge graduate Jalen Adams pichts for Arizona this season. Adams will return to Iowa this weekend, facing Iowa State in Ames.

AMES — Former Fort Dodge Senior High all-stater Jalen Adams returns home this weekend to lead the Arizona softball team into action vs. Iowa State.

The Wildcats take on the Cyclones in a Big 12 Conference three-game set beginning Sunday at 1 p.m. The two will play twice on Sunday and a single-game on Monday, with ESPN+ providing a live stream for all three.

Adams, who transferred to Arizona after a three-year career with the Iowa Hawkeyes, has the Wildcats ranked No. 13 in the country with a 27-8 overall record and 9-3 mark in the league.

She tossed a no-hitter in her first appearance with Arizona, becoming the first Wildcat to ever accomplish that feat. Adams is 14-4 with a 3.16 earned run average and 38 strikeouts in just under 89 innings pitched on the season.

Adams has recorded four complete games, three shutouts and a save among her 24 appearances, making 15 starts. Opponents are hitting just .251 off her this year.

Since a loss to second-ranked Texas Tech in mid-March, Adams has picked up wins in her last four appearances, including two complete games. She also earned a win over Texas Tech with five innings of four-hit ball, striking out four without allowing a run.

With the Hawkeyes, Adams earned 45 victories and 245 strikeouts with a 2.26 earned run average. She was named to the all-Big Ten second-team, the NFCA all-Midwest second-team and earned Big Ten all-freshman honors.

As a Dodger, Adams led the program to their only state championship in 2021, becoming a five-time all-stater while playing for her mother, Andi Adams. She was also the 2022 Iowa Gatorade Player of the Year.

This will be the first time Arizona and Iowa State have met on the softball diamond in Ames. The Wildcats own a 10-0 record all-time in the series.

Iowa State (21-13, 3-6) features several former Iowa high school standouts in the lineup including Reagan Bartholomew, Jessie Clemons and Kasey Kane. Bartholomew played at Waukee Northwest while Clemons and Kane are graduates of Pleasant Valley.