It has been an injury-plagued year, and the list of injuries continues to grow, with junior infielder Courtney Wray fracturing her arm during Wednesday’s game against Missouri.

“Obviously someone will have to take her place,” said coach Stacy Gemeinhardt-Cesler. “Every day at practice we try to evaluate players and try to make the best judgment on game day of who’s going to give us the best chance to win.”

Gemeinhardt-Cesler said senior infielder Jacquelyn Beatty will take Wray’s vacated spot in the infield for the time being. Beatty will have a big spot to fill, as Wray was leading the team in hitting with an average of .301 as well as driving in 19 runs.

The injury to Wray comes just six days after the Cyclones were able to get sophomore outfielder Carleigh Berry back in the lineup. The exact length of her injury is unknown but the team remains optimistic that she will be back soon.

“Obviously she’s a huge part of this team,” said junior catcher Alex Johnson. “Hopefully she’ll be back before the Big 12 Tournament. I don’t really know what’s going on with her arm but what I know is that she’ll be gone until the tournament.”

The news of Wray’s injury comes as a big blow to the team, but it could have an even bigger impact this weekend when the team travels to College Station for two games against Texas A&M, a team that the Cyclones are 2-16 against since the 2000-2001. Despite their struggles, the Cyclones feel confident about their chances of picking up a few wins this weekend.

“In the past they’ve been such a dominating schoo,l but this year they’re down,” said junior infielder Amanda Bradberry. “To take advantage of them being down would be great because everything that we do is a step for the program right now. We’re on the way up and this would be even closer to get us to the top.”

The Cyclones will also look to gain some ground in the Big 12 standings.

With only three more series remaining before the Big 12 Tournament, the Cyclones are currently only three games behind the Big 12’s fifth place team, Nebraska. “If we can win out and then have comparisons with Nebraska and to have the big win over Missouri, seeding-wise it could end up being a very beneficial thing for us,” Bradberry said.

For the Cyclones it is coming down to crunch time as they have their sights set on the Big 12 Tournament, because in order to go on past the Big 12 Tournament, the team must have a .500 or better record and at 22-26 with six games left, the Cyclones will have to be close to perfect.

“It’s not how you start the season, it’s how you end,” Gemeinhardt-Cesler said. “I was just looking at the standings in the Big 12 and there’s still a lot of opportunity. It just goes back to you have to play one pitch at a time and just come out and execute and compete and see where you land.”