Iowa State is off to its best start since the inaugural 1975 Cyclone softball season in which they started 6-0.

The Cyclones swept the Bradley Invitational over the weekend, beating Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis 10-0 and Western Illinois 11-2 on Saturday, then beating Wright State 6-2 and coming back to beat Bradley 5-3.

“For the first weekend out I thought we hit well as a team, I thought a couple games we faced some adversity and were able to come back and win,” head coach Stacy Gemeinhardt-Cesler said.

Although they played well and won the games, Gemeinhardt-Cesler still sees room for improvement.

“I thought that we seemed to get frustrated, and we kind of threw the ball around a little bit [Sunday],” Gemeinhardt-Cesler said.

“We were able to overcome it, but if we could get over it faster, I think we would be better.”

One of the major frustrations for the team was the tough pitching by Bradley senior Ashley Birdsong. Birdsong pitched a complete game against the Cyclones, letting in five runs — four earned — and racked up 10 strikeouts.

“I think that we were pretty frustrated by that and, you know, and that’s probably the biggest thing that we walked away with I think from that game,” Gemeinhardt-Cesler said. “Even when things aren’t going our way, we need to be able to make those adjustments and get ride of those frustrations in order to come back and win.”

The Cyclones were able to do that as they were in trouble for the first time this season. Iowa State was trailing 3-1 in the fifth inning before catcher Alex Johnson got a two-run infield single to take the lead.

“You know, we had a couple people do some really key things that helped us come back,” Gemeinhardt-Cesler said.

Gemeinhardt-Cesler feels the Bradley Invitational provided the Cyclones with a good start to the season. Not only did it give the team confidence heading into the rest of the season, but it gave them a good chance to knock off the cobwebs after a long, cold winter.

“It was our first time out, so I don’t think that we were probably quite as sharp, but I think that that was just normal for the first time going out,” Gemeinhardt-Cesler said.