The ISU softball team began the season with average expectations.

So far, even those expectations have not been met. The Cyclones (2-6) have won just two of their first eight games, including a five-game winless weekend in Tempe, Ariz., during which the Cyclones scored only eight runs.

“It was honestly pretty unbelievable that a weekend could be that bad,” said coach Stacy Gemeinhardt-Cesler. “We didn’t pitch well, I don’t think that we hit well, we didn’t field well, I don’t think we had a great mental presence.”

From here, the Cyclones can only improve.

“I know we’re not as bad as we’re playing,” Gemeinhardt-Cesler said. “The main thing is that you put it behind you, you figure out what you can do to go forward and get better.”

Lexi Slater, a freshman infielder, was one of the few bright spots for the Cyclones in Tempe last weekend. She currently leads the team with a .368 batting average through eight games.

“We wanted to push ourselves to get to the top, and what we need to do is take it step by step,” Slater said. “I think we just got ahead of ourselves and aimed too high.”

Freshman Jorden Smith, who currently owns a .316 batting average, also stood out amid the doldrums in Tempe, going 2-for-2 against both Arizona State and Minnesota to end the weekend. She emphasized the importance of getting back to the basics.

“Just remember why we play,” Smith said. “We love the game, we love softball. That’s really why we’re together.”

Slater and Smith are both freshmen who hope to learn from this early slump and use it to progress in the future.

Slater said the team needs less focus on the ultimate outcome of the game and “more focus on fundamentals and what we’re doing wrong, what we’re doing right.”

“We just need to be more effective,” Gemeinhardt-Cesler said.

Gemeinhardt-Cesler said situational work during both pitching and batting practice can go a long way toward preparing the players for in-game pressure situations.

The Cyclones continue their hefty nonconference schedule in Cathedral City, Calif., this weekend as they compete in the Cathedral Classic beginning Thursday. The weekend is hosted by Oregon State and consists of five games against teams from the West Coast.