The ISU softball team is preparing for their third weekend in a row on the road.

Coach Stacy Gemeinhardt-Cesler’s club will head down to Tulsa, Okla. with a 9-6 record, looking to build on last week’s road trip to Charleston, S.C. where they went 3-2.

Gemeinhardt-Cesler knows her team will be tested by some stiff competition in Tulsa.

“As I look at Ohio State, Tulsa, and Drake, I think that they are all very good. None of them can be taken lightly,” Gemeinhardt-Cesler said. “And whenever you play an in-state school like Drake, it’s always going to be a great game.”

Cyclone pitcher Rachel Zabriskie had a record on 1-2 on the three-day road trip to Charleston, despite delivering an ERA of 0.67. In the Cyclones’ two losses last weekend, the team combined to score only one run on six hits in both games.

“It’s always frustrating when you lose,” Zabriskie said. “But it was nice getting back in the habit of pitching well consistently.”

The Ohio State Buckeyes will be the first opponent on the slate for the Cyclones in Tulsa. The Buckeyes started out the season ranked in the top 30 of the RPI rankings but are currently on a five-game losing streak after a tough road trip to California.

A 10-5 Tulsa Golden Hurricane squad playing at home should prove to be a test for the Cyclones.

Pitcher Aimee Creger leads an impressive three-pitcher rotation for Tulsa that has a combined ERA of 1.75. Creger (5-1) has also already registered a no-hitter this season in a 7-0 victory over Long Island.

The Cyclones are no stranger to their in-state rival Drake Bulldogs, currently 6-3. The two teams met four times last year, with the Cyclones winning the first two at neutral sites, only to drop both games in the home/away series with Drake.

The Cyclones will also face the North Dakota Fighting Sioux, who are sitting at 2-7 on the year.

Gemeinhardt-Cesler said that now that the season is under way, opponents have scouting reports on Cyclone hitters, and know which pitches they struggle to hit.

She said the Cyclones will be working on offensive confidence and consistency this week in practice, specifically on the pitches they do not hit well.