The ISU softball team kicks off its Big 12 schedule with a three-game series against Texas this weekend in Ames. The Cyclones finished their nonconference schedule with a 9-15 record.

“Obviously I’d like it to be better,” said ISU coach Stacy Gemeinhardt-Cesler of the Cyclones’ nonconference record. “I think that there’s a lot of things that we could learn from that. I wish that we had been definitely more consistent, but it is what it is. We just keep on going from here.”

The Cyclones may have gotten ahead of themselves in nonconference play, said freshman Lexi Slater.

“We were looking at an overall picture of what we wanted for the whole entire season,” Slater said. “We weren’t looking at game by game.”

The Cyclones ended the nonconference schedule with back-to-back wins over Santa Clara and St. Mary’s, which has given the team added confidence heading into this weekend.

“It wasn’t as consistent as we were hoping, but now it’s time to turn that around,” said senior pitcher Lauren Kennewell. “I think we can really come out and surprise some people.”

The Longhorns (23-2) have been dominant so far this season, and are already off to a 3-0 start in the Big 12. Texas won both meetings between the two teams last season in Austin, Texas.

“They have a great hitting team. That’s what they’ve been known for the last couple years,” Kennewell said. “They’ve also got a couple good pitchers on their staff, so it’s definitely going to be a battle.”

Offensively, the Longhorns are led by senior Lexy Bennett, who is currently batting .471 with six homeruns and 37 RBIs this season.

The Texas pitching staff has been stifling opponents’ bats all season, currently owning a collective ERA of 1.25.

Gemeinhardt-Cesler said there is a fine line between trying too hard and just letting the game come to you.

“We need to just go out and play and let it rip,” Gemeinhardt-Cesler said.

The Cyclones’ outlook on the Big 12 season as a whole appears to be quite optimistic.

“I’m just expecting us to come out and surprise some people,” Kennewell said. “Right now we’re at the bottom of the Big 12, but that doesn’t mean that we’re not a good team.”

Given that she is a freshman, Slater has never experienced the trials of the Big 12 conference schedule. But she knows what to expect.

“I know they’re going to be good. I know that we’re going to be better. We just have to play our game,” Slater said.

This weekend’s games are scheduled for 4 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday.