After finishing the spring season with its best record in a decade, the ISU softball team is back on the diamond hard at work for next year. Although the team took a step forward last season, it still finished five games below .500 and 5-13 in Big 12 play.

So far this fall, the team has already seen signs of improvement and is very optimistic about the spring.

The Cyclones lost just one senior from last year’s roster, and coach Stacy Gemeinhardt is pleased with the amount of incoming talent they have seen thus far.

“We have added some depth and more speed to our lineup,” she said.

“I’m pleased with the returners who are well prepared for this season by staying in great shape over the summer.”

The team played four games last weekend against various Iowa community colleges and finished with a 3-1 record. The team won by run rule in the first three games against Kirkwood Community College, Iowa Lakes Community College and Marshalltown Community College, then dropped the final game 4-1 to Muscatine Community College.

“The most important part about the fall season is it gives us a chance to see the new players and the work that our returners did over the summer,” Gemeinhardt said.

Senior leftfielder Katie Reichling echoed the Gemeinhardt’s statements.

“It’s a great way to just get back and play, and it’s nice to see where you are after the summer, so we know where we need to make improvements,” Reichling said. “We’re also working with the new players and have other players switching positions, so this gives us a chance to see how everyone fits in.”

Reichling, one of seven seniors on the Cyclone roster, was second on the team in hitting (.298), home runs (6), runs scored (25) and runs batted in (29) during the 2006 season.

Gemeinhardt, an alumna of the University of Missouri, is in her second year with the Cyclones after coaching at Division II Emporia State. In her tenure with the Hornets, Gemeinhardt led the squad to the largest single-season turnaround in team history while collecting Mid-America Intercollegiates Athletic Association Coach of the Year honors in 2003 and 2005.

By playing this eight-game fall schedule, the Cyclones are also getting a chance to see what lineups work best and to find out what they need to improve on most when they head into winter training.

“This gives us a chance to mix up our lineups and gauge what kind of work we need to do before the spring season starts,” Gemeinhardt said.

Gemeinhardt believes improving communication between the new players and the veterans is one of the main things the team needs to address by the time spring rolls around. She also thinks consistency will be a vital ingredient for this teams’ success.

“Consistency is going to be important in our mental approach, where it doesn’t matter who we play, our game shouldn’t change,” Gemeinhardt said. “We also have to keep steady mechanics in all aspects of the game, such as making the right pitches when we need to.”

Although the team improved last season, Gemeinhardt knows there is still room for improvement, and she expects the team to do even better this spring.

The Cyclones will play the last four games of their fall schedule with a series of doubleheaders this weekend at the Southwest Athletic Complex. The team will face Northern Iowa and Drake at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Saturday, and Iowa and Drake at 10 a.m. and noon Sunday.