The ISU softball team will try to close out an impressive season with conference wins when it travels to Kansas this weekend to take on the Jayhawks.

With one victory over Kansas (36-17, 6-10 Big 12), the Cyclones (27-27, 3-13 Big 12) will finish the regular season with a .500 record for the first time since 1999. The game with Kansas will be Iowa State’s third try at 28 wins this week, after losing to Nebraska on Tuesday and splitting a doubleheader with South Dakota State on Wednesday night.

Although a .500 record might not seem like a notable accomplishment to some, 28 wins could show the Cyclones are capable of competing in arguably the toughest conference in the country.

With a sweep of the Jayhawks, the Cyclones can leapfrog into the No. 8 seed over Baylor, who currently sits one conference victory above them. Baylor lost the final two games of its conference schedule to Oklahoma this week and has no games remaining. These two games at Kansas are the last of the regular season for the Cyclones; the Big 12 Championships kick off Friday, May 9, in Oklahoma City.

The Jayhawks, who have won six out of their last eight games, are hosting the Cyclones after splitting a two-game set with Nebraska earlier this week. While Kansas has struggled against the top competition in conference play, they have won 36 games on the strength of an offense that has scored the fourth-most runs in the entire conference. The Jayhawks are led offensively by Dougie McCaulley, who has a .394 season batting average.

The Jayhawk pitching staff isn’t too shabby, either. Kansas’ ace, Valerie George, is 18-8 with a 1.83 ERA and ranks fourth in the conference with 174 strikeouts this season.

Iowa State swept both games against Kansas in Ames last season, but lost the one that mattered, falling to the Jayhawks in the Big 12 tournament.