After two months of strenuous road trips, rigorous competition and uncooperative forecasts, the ISU softball team has finally had a chance to settle down for a few days.

The Cyclones (20-20, 0-6 Big 12) received Saturday and Sunday off after going to Norman, Okla., last Friday for a doubleheader with the No. 2 Sooners (41-4, 7-2 Big 12), capping off a four-day stretch in which the team played five games while traveling almost 1,500 miles.

The Cyclones will now stay close to Ames all week, as they will not have to travel any farther than Des Moines, but whether the playing conditions will cooperate is still up in the air.

“I think we just needed a little bit of rest,” said coach Stacy Gemeinhardt-Cesler. “Now we’re back, charged up and ready to go, getting focused on the things we can do well, and hoping we have nice enough weather to play.”

Iowa State will host a struggling South Dakota State team in a doubleheader at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. Tuesday, before traveling to Drake for two games Wednesday and hosting a conference series against Texas Tech on Saturday and Sunday.

The SDSU Jackrabbits (10-18) have lost 11 of their last 12 games, and have spent the entire season on the road, as their home opener has been delayed several times because of inclement weather, as well as unplayable field conditions.

Despite being held to one run or less in eight of their last 12 games, the Jackrabbits have been able to stay close in most games because of a dependable pitching staff.

“Their pitching has been doing fairly well lately,” Gemeinhardt-Cesler said.

“We have had some trouble at the plate, so it’s going to be important for us to have good at bats against them.”

The Cyclones’ struggles at the plate have only allowed them to score more than two runs just once in seven games, which yielded their only victory in that stretch.

Senior pitcher Alyssa Ransom was a bright spot again this weekend for the Cyclones, when she had her third straight quality outing on the mound against Oklahoma on Friday. She didn’t allow a run in 9.2 innings, while striking out six in a 10-inning loss to the Sooners.

“Alyssa has been really throwing well for us,” said senior Kristen Karanzias.

“She kept us in the game, and we got a few more timely hits. Now we just really need to build off how well we played, knowing we can compete against a great team like Oklahoma, and continue that all week.”