The ISU softball team heads to Tempe, Ariz. this weekend to take part in the Littlewood Classic, where the team will play five games in three days. The Cyclones (2-1, 0-0 Big 12) will be competing against Minnesota, Illinois State, Iowa and event-host Arizona State.

This weekend tees off the non-conference schedule for the Cyclones, which will have them traveling every week until the end of March, including stops in Arizona, California and Texas.

With such a heavy travel load, managing both athletics and academics can be a challenge.

“You really have to be well time managed,” said sophomore Anna Cole, who finished last weekend with a home run and three RBIs. “If you don’t get your homework done before the trip, it’s a lot of stuff you have to do on the road.” Cole said that road trips offer a lot of good bonding time with the team, so it’s important for her to get her school work done beforehand.

Freshman pitcher Miranda Kemp said she sees the frequent travel as a positive. “I think it’s actually going to help us focus a little bit more on academics,” Kemp said. “If you miss something, you have to make it up.”

Head coach Stacy Gemeinhardt-Cesler said she believes the team GPA is higher in the spring than in the fall for a number of reasons, including a “more strategically planned” class schedule and the structure that “going on the road and having practice for 20 hours a week” provides.

Iowa State begins the weekend by facing Minnesota (3-1, 0-0 Big Ten) on Friday morning. The Gophers defeated the Cyclones twice in Ames last season, but the two teams’ all-time neutral-site series is split 3-3. Iowa State will cap off the weekend against Minnesota on Sunday morning, as well.

The Cyclones will be opposite reigning Missouri Valley champs Illinois State (3-1, 0-0 Missouri Valley) on Friday afternoon. The two teams have not faced each other since 1999. The Redbirds, like the Cyclones, return many key players from last season and are expected to compete for another conference championship this year.

Saturday afternoon will contain some added intensity for Iowa State as they face in-state rival Iowa (3-2, 0-0 Big Ten).

“Anytime we look across the field and see a Hawkeye, we’re going to want to win,” Cole said.

“It’s always there, it doesn’t matter where we’re playing,” Gemeinhardt-Cesler said. “You definitely want to be the best team in the state.”

The Hawkeyes emerged victorious in their only meeting against the Cyclones last season, winning 4-3 in Iowa City. The Cyclones hold the neutral-site series lead 6-2.

No. 6 Arizona State (3-2, 0-0 Pac-12) began last weekend ranked No. 1 before falling to McNeese State and No. 9 Tennessee at home. The Sun Devils finished 60-6 last season on their way to a fourth national title.

The weekend begins for Iowa State on Friday against Minnesota at 10 a.m. and Illinois State at noon. The Cyclones then face Iowa at 2 p.m. on Saturday, followed by Arizona State at 8:30 p.m. The weekend concludes against Minnesota at 10 a.m. on Sunday.