The ISU softball team is preparing for a doubleheader this Sunday against Kirkwood in Ames.

The Eagles are coming off an impressive 54-11 season that saw their season end four games into the 2011 NJCAA II tournament in a 1-0 loss to East Mississippi Community College.

“Kirkwood had a great year last year. I watched them play quite a bit in the national tournament; they’ll be very competitive and scrappy,” said ISU coach Stacy Gemeinhardt-Cesler.

The Cyclones are trying to bounce back after a difficult loss to Drake last weekend at the Iowa Big Four tournament.

After beating Northern Iowa, 6-2 and run-ruling Iowa, 9-1, on Saturday, the Cyclones came out flat in a 9-0 loss to Drake on Sunday.

“Saturday we played at our best and Sunday probably one of our worst games,” said Cyclone catcher Evan Folks. “If we played perfect all the time, we’d just be here practicing going through the motions, so now we know what we need to work on.”

Gemeinhardt-Cesler hopes that the loss was a wake-up call for her team and said it will serve as motivation through the remainder of the fall schedule.

“More focus and the idea of knowing what we need to do and what we need to work on. Those are the good things that come from losses,” Gemeinhardt-Cesler said. “It’s pretty clear that if we play like we did Saturday, we’re going to have a lot of success. If we play like we did sunday, we’re not.”

The Eagles have a talented but young team after losing all five of their Louisville Slugger/NJCAA Division II All-Americans from last year’s squad including ace pitcher Amanda Lambrecht.

Lambrecht had a 1.00 ERA last season, good for third-lowest in the nation in Division II and registered the most strikeouts in Division II with 305 on the season.

The Cyclones are more concerned about righting their own ship right now and getting back into the win column.

“We need to get our confidence back up and play with more focus this Sunday,” said Cyclone right fielder Anna Cole. “You always want to win and you want to beat the other Iowa schools and show who is the best in Iowa but it’s also good see where we are as a team.”

The Cyclones will open their doubleheader against Kirkwood on Sunday at 2 p.m. in Ames at the Southwest Athletic Complex, with the second game scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.