Just two days removed from their improbable upset of No. 16 Nebraska, the Cyclones will have the chance to do something even more improbable – upset the Huskers again.

“It would be really thrilling. I love beating Nebraska,” said senior shortstop Cary Akins. “I’ve never really liked them all four years I’ve been here, and a win would just be really nice.”

When the Cyclones (19-20, 3-6) go on the road to face Nebraska (32-8, 6-4) they will have an opportunity to accomplish a number of things with a win. Iowa State hasn’t swept a Big 12 team all season, and hasn’t defeated the Huskers twice in a row in since 1994. But history doesn’t seem to concern the Cyclones as much as the prospect of gaining momentum from a sweep of their Big 12 rivals.

Any time we win we get momentum, especially a win when we can score a lot of runs when we get our bats going like that,” Akins said. “It really will help carry us into whatever is next.”

A win would give the team 20 on the season – its most since 1999 – and bring it back to the .500 mark for the first time since April 5 (16-16), adding to the Cyclones momentum.

“That would be great. That’s where we want to be, and that’s what we’re striving for,” said coach Stacy Gemeinhardt. “Being at .500 shows that we’re always improving, and that is definitely a sign of improvement.”

Beating a ranked team once is tough, but beating a good team a second time is often twice as hard. The Cyclones, however, don’t seem as worried about the prospect of a second upset that seems just as improbable as the first.

“With the way we played against Nebraska [on Tuesday], I think all we are is confident that we can beat them again,” Akins said. “After playing them, we all feel that there is nothing Nebraska can throw at us that we can’t handle.”

The Cyclones should have at least one major advantage that stems from coaching decisions by both teams during the 6-5 Cyclone win.

With both teams scoring at will in the early portion of the game, Nebraska coach Rhonda Revelle elected to pull starting pitcher Ashley DeBuhr in favor of freshman Molly Hill, who gave up the eventual game-winning two-run home run to Jennifer Bigbee. The move allowed the Cyclones to see both of Nebraska’s pitchers, which should help the offense out in the rematch.

“It is a huge advantage for our offense,” Akins said. “Any look at all [at a pitcher] – even if it is just a short look – is going to make you that much better when you get up to bat.”

Gemeinhardt, however, elected to stick with junior Alyssa Ransom despite her early struggles, and was rewarded when Ransom settled down and retired the last six batters she faced.

As a result, Nebraska didn’t get the opportunity to see Cyclone pitcher Amie Ford, something Iowa State can use.

“It is a big advantage for us, especially with Amie Ford, because this is her first year pitching, so they have never ever seen her before,” Akins said. “What it does to them as an offense is it gets them guessing, it gets them off balance and it gets them adjusting things, which will really take some momentum away from them mentally.”

The Cyclones will try to move up in the Big 12 standings by improving their conference record to 4-6 at 6 p.m. Thursday in Lincoln, Neb.