After a rough schedule of games against ranked opponents Texas, Louisiana-Lafayette and Georgia, Iowa State (10–11) will head west to face three opponents with records below .500.

With their three opponents combing for a 15–30 record, Iowa State enters the tournament with the most wins of any of the teams. However, the Cyclones believe their opponent’s records are not a strong indication of what to expect this weekend.

“The statistics are a little bit deceiving,” said coach Stacy Gemeinhardt-Cesler. “I think that [the other teams] have played some really good teams and probably their pitching staff have been hit pretty hard. It’ll be important for us to go in and as always have the confidence that we are great hitters but at the same time not look past anybody.”

The Cyclones will play two games against host Cal Poly (5–6), two against Sacramento State (3–12) and one versus UC-Santa Barbara (7–12).

Iowa State hopes these five games will help answer some questions surrounding its pitching staff. After the Cal Poly Tournament, the Cyclones have one more tournament before the regular season begins and will rely on these next two tournaments to determine how they utilize their pitchers for the rest of the season.

“We’ve gotten better and better as a pitching staff,” Gemeinhardt-Cesler said. “[Freshman pitcher Tori Torrescano] threw really well against Drake and Eastern Illinois. We’re just looking for her to find that same consistency. We definitely know she can do it and believe she can do it. She just needs to keep working during these tournaments.”

Through 34 innings pitched, Torrescano has a 4.94 earned run average and will likely see more innings during the Cal Poly Tournament as she tries to solidify her position as the number two starter.

Offensively, the Cyclones have had positive results from the plate. Through 21 games, the Cyclones are batting .277 as a team, while allowing a .260 average to their opponents.

Sophomore outfielder Heidi Kidwell is one of five Cyclones to be hitting over .300. Kidwell has started strong, hitting .384 over 21 games while driving in eight runs.

During the two games against Cal Poly, Iowa State will likely face junior pitcher Anna Cahn during the tournament. The lefty is a former 27-game winner and has proven to be one of the Big Sky’s top pitchers.

Over 35.2 innings pitched, Cahn has allowed just six earned runs while striking out 29 and walking nine. Her 1.18 ERA and 3–2 record leads the team and has helped them to a 3.10 team ERA.

“She’s just a good player,” Gemeinhardt-Cesler said. “She’s tall and strong and we just need to make sure that when we are ahead of her in the count, we are looking for pitches to hit. If we can let the bad pitches go by and capitalize on those hittable pitches, we won’t have a problem.”

Cahn also leads her team in hitting with a .346 batting average. She is tied for second with nine hits and has driven in six runs.

The Cyclones’ other two opponents have not have as much luck pitching as Cal Poly. Both UC-Santa Barbara and Sacramento are allowing opponents to hit over .300.

UC-Santa Barbara’s pitchers have combined for a 5.43 ERA, while allowing 106 runs. The Gauchos have received a consistently strong effort from senior pitcher Lindsey Correa but after her, the rest of the staff has struggled.

Correa leads the Gauchos with a 3.91 ERA and has allowed 19 earned runs over 34 innings. After Correa, fellow pitchers MeLinda Matsumoto and Krista Cobb have combined to allow 68 earned runs over 81.1 innings.

Both pitching and hitting have been problems for Sacramento State this season. Over 15 games, the Hornets are averaging 2.6 runs per game and are hitting .246 as a team. With 82 strikeouts, the Hornets have the third most of any team in the Pacific Coast Softball Conference.

Despite having a team ERA of 4.31 including two pitchers with an ERA of 3.50 or lower, the biggest problem has been the number of hits allowed. Hornets’ pitchers have allowed 128 hits over 102.1 innings.

Iowa State will play its first game of the tournament Friday at 1 p.m. versus host Cal Poly.