The ISU softball team plays its home games at the Southwest Athletic Complex in Ames. It has been home to the Cyclones since 1980 and is widely regarded as one of the finest fields in the Big 12.

The team practices at the Lied Recreation Athletic Center in the winter until the weather permits practice to be moved to the complex.

Stacy Gemeinhardt-Cesler has been coach of ISU softball for seven years. She coached at Division II Emporia State, where she was named Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Coach of the Year twice, prior to coming to Iowa State.

As a student-athlete, Gemeinhardt-Cesler played at Missouri, where she was a two-time all-conference performer.

Seniors Tori Torrescano and Erica Miller are the top performers for the Cyclones.

Torrescano carried the load both offensively and in the pitcher’s circle in 2012, setting a single-season record at Iowa State with 43 RBIs and recording over 150 innings pitched. Miller led the Cyclones in batting in 2012, with a .377 average as of May 1.

Freshman Lexi Slater was batting .271 as of May 1 and had started all 47 games to that point in the season.

Sophomore Taylor Smith led the Cyclones with a 5.86 ERA as of May 1.

The ISU softball team has not posted a winning record since the 1994-95 season. It finished 2011-12 at the bottom of the Big 12 (14-33, 2-16 Big 12 as of May 1) and was near the bottom of the conference in team batting, pitching and fielding.

Next season, top performers Torrescano and Miller will be seniors coming off career years.

The Cyclones had the most underclassmen in the Big 12 in 2011-12, some of whom were key contributors. These underclassmen, including Slater, Jorden Smith and Sara Davison, will have another year of experience under their belts.