Baseball season may be in full swing, but when the Cyclones traveled to the University of South Dakota for their weekend series against the Coyotes, the box scores ended up reading more like a football scoreboard.

The Cyclones went 1-3 on the weekend, losing the first two games 18-15 and 12-8 before finally bouncing back to win the third game 13-2 in five innings. The fourth game of the series sent the Cyclones home with the taste of defeat as the Coyotes won game four 14-13 in eight innings.

The Coyotes dealt a blow to the Cyclones’ confidence as they belted three home runs in their game-one victory over the Cyclones.

Sophomore third basemen Andrew Reiff was a bright spot for the Cyclones as he went 6-for-12 on the series with three singles, two doubles and a home run, pushing his average to .444. That is the second-highest on the team.

Ben Bergum also had an impressive weekend for the Cyclones as he maintained his lead in on base percentage at .545. He had three singles, a double and four walks.

Matt Schrage also had an impressive series with four singles and two doubles in his 17 at-bats.

The team’s biggest struggle was its play in the field, as it committed 16 errors on the series.

“We made errors and they capitalized on them and we weren’t able to bounce back,” Bergum said.

Reiff admits that although the team wasn’t overconfident heading into the series, lack of preparation might have been an issue.

“We knew they were leading the conference and were going to be a stepping stone for us to beat them,” Reiff said. “The infield was kind of rough and bumpy and I don’t think we were prepared for that fast of an infield.”

That could have been a factor in the team’s fielding troubles, and Reiff admits the fielding will again be an issue that the team needs to address for its upcoming series against Nebraska in Lincoln.

“We just couldn’t get it get it going,” Reiff said.  “We definitely need to get some work done on our ground balls.”

The number of errors definitely didn’t help the pitchers’ confidence throughout the series, and at times the frustration came out verbally from the players.

Reiff says the team’s record, which stands and 3-5 overall and 2-4 in the conference, isn’t a sign of its talent level.

“We have a ton of talent on the team, we’re just not making the plays when we need to. We got to put two and two together,” Reiff said.