The great Yogi Berra once said that the game of baseball is 90 percent mental and the other half is physical. For the ISU softball team, that could be the slogan for the past few games, including Wednesday’s game against the Northern Iowa Panthers.

The Cyclones lost 6-4, but it was a game in which Iowa State may have been two bad innings away from a potential victory.

It was a game in which Iowa State scored four runs on 10 hits. The Cyclones also left nine stranded on base, however, leaving the team to wonder what the outcome would have been if it was able to get some hits while a few of those runners were on base.

Coach Stacy Gemeinhardt-Cesler believes the team can improve on that number by tweaking its approach both mentally and physically.

“[Leaving runners on base] has been something we have battled with,” Gemeinhardt-Cesler said. “Just having the confidence, knowing you can hit and hitting the ball, that’s the big thing. The other thing is adjusting to a strike zone. Whether you like the strike or not, if the umpire is calling the strike, then you need to be able to hit the ball and I don’t think we did that very well.”

Another possible factor in the loss on Wednesday could have been the added pressure the team was putting on itself. Injuries to three of the Cyclones’ pitchers has forced sophomore pitcher Rachel Zabriskie to step up and take in much of the work load. Because of this, it is possible that the team may be forcing the issue to deliver for its pitcher.

“We know that the pressure that’s on Rachel is so much more bearing just because she’s the only one we have that has pitched in the last year,” said junior infielder Sydni Jones. “And so knowing that, going up to the plate, you feel as a teammate you want to do your best for her and pick her up by scoring runs.”

Jones did say that she is partly to blame for some of the recent offensive woes, but hopes that with time the struggles will vanish.

“We’re all good hitters, and we know we’re good hitters,” Jones said. “I think sometimes we might second guess ourselves just because some of us, like me, have been struggling the past few games. In order to take pressure off of yourself, you just need to know you’re good and we just need to start attacking because we’re better than this and we know we’re better than this.”

Whether the added pressure is the real reason behind some of the team’s struggles still remains the question. The fact is that the team has now dropped eight of its last 11 games and is hoping to rebound soon.

“The fact of the matter is that whatever we’re doing right now isn’t enough,” Gemeinhardt-Cesler said. “Every single person has got to find something else that they can do, something else that they can contribute in order for us to have a chance.”