The ISU softball team was facing a road trip with four games that would have covered three states in five days.

That trip got a little easier after a snow storm forced the Cyclones’ Thursday road doubleheader with North Dakota State to be moved to the Southwest Athletic Complex in Ames.

The Cyclones begin the week with a game on the road Tuesday against intra-state rival Iowa, then come home Thursday to face North Dakota State before heading on the road again to play third-ranked Oklahoma over the weekend.

The lack of travel gives the team a relief from the rigorous schedule, but the Cyclones were hoping it would light a fire under them coming off a poor performance against Oklahoma State.

“Traveling is something they should be accustom to,” said coach Stacy Gemeinhardt-Cesler. “Maybe it will be better for them to get back on the road. Maybe we will play a little bit better.”

The test begins with Iowa State’s biggest rival – Iowa.

“It is one of those in-state rivalries that are awesome,” Gemeinhardt-Cesler said.

“It doesn’t matter who is supposed to be better or anything like that, it’s just always going to be a great game, and that is what we expect on Tuesday.”

The Cyclones have several freshmen who get significant playing time. How they react is key to Iowa State’s chances.

“In high school we had rivals, so I think of it the same way,” said freshmen utility player Courtney Wray. “Even though I am from out of state, I know that Iowa State and Iowa are big rivals.”

This game, however, is especially important to some of the players that grew up in Iowa.

“Coming from Iowa, it is a little different because I had a choice to go to either Iowa State or Iowa, so I want to show that I am good enough to go either place,” infielder Jessica Quade said.

Unfortunately, the Hawkeyes have outplayed the Cyclones recently, including a 13-0 romp earlier this fall.

“We have never come out and played well against Iowa, so hopefully this year we can do that,” Quade said. “I consider this a really big rivalry. It’s to find out who is the best in the state. We have already beaten UNI, so we just have them and Drake.”

Even though they are big rivals, the Cyclones have a lot of respect for the Iowa softball team.

“They have a great pitcher, [Brittany] Weil,” Gemeinhardt-Cesler said. “She was hurt earlier in the season, but they have been playing pretty well since she has been throwing.

“They have a great team and a great tradition, so we have to come out and play a lot better then what we did [on Sunday against Oklahoma State].”