Despite the Cyclones’ 1-5 conference record this season, confidence is running high.

Iowa State will play Nebraska on Thursday at the Southwest Athletic Complex at 4 p.m.

The last time the two teams met, the Cyclones rolled to an easy 13-4 victory.

The Cyclones feel that they have regained a bit of their swagger coming off a 6-0 win over Northern Iowa on Tuesday.

“We gained a little bit of momentum and intensity from our win Tuesday,” said freshman infielder Erica Miller. “Our spirits are high.”

The team is especially pleased with the six runs scored on its cross-state rivals, but recently Iowa State has seen troubles on offense.

While the team scored at a clip of more than five per game over its six-game losing streak prior to beating Northern Iowa, the Cyclones only managed to score seven runs in that time span, no more than two in any one game.

The team turned those troubles around on Tuesday, however, with 11 hits to go along with the six runs.

“People that have been struggling to build up a lot of confidence in that game,” senior outfielder Carleigh Berry said.

The team’s renewed confidence came as a result of a more aggressive approach at the plate for the Cyclones.

“[During the losing streak] we were taking a lot of strikes and looking for out pitch instead of hitting the strikes that she was throwing,” Berry said.

“Against UNI I think we were swinging at more strikes instead of just swinging at our pitches. We did a good job of being more aggressive.”

Hitting off of the Nebraska pitching staff may be a more difficult task then hitting against the Panthers, however.

“Their pitching staff is doing pretty well,” said coach Stacy Gemeinhardt-Cesler.

“That’s something we face all the time in the Big 12. We just have to be ready to play, attacking and aggressive.”

The Cornhuskers pitchers are led by junior Robin Mackin and sophomore Ashley Hagemann with ERAs of 1.91 and 3.16.

They have been the workhorses for Nebraska throwing 120 innings a piece so far this season.

Beyond the typical Iowa State-Nebraska rivalry, this game has implications on the Cyclones post season hopes.

The first RPI poll put the Cyclones at 53, placing them squarely on the bubble for the 64-team postseason tournament at the end of the season.

“Its important because we would like to gain ground in the Big 12 and I think it’s a very winnable game against Nebraska,” Berry said.