The Cyclones march into their home opener with a battle of David vs. Goliath proportions looming for this weekend’s series. Iowa State will take on the defending Big 12 champion and top-ranked Texas Longhorns at 2 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday.

“Going into a game like this – it’s just going to be one of those challenges where you see how strong you are and see how much character you have as a team,” senior Cary Akins said.

The perennial Big 12 powerhouse comes in with an eight-game winning streak, boasting a daunting 36-3 record and holding a 20-1 all-time series lead over the Cyclones.

Despite being underdogs to the heavily favored Longhorns, the Cyclones feel they have a good shot as of knocking off Texas.

“In the Big 12, anybody can beat anybody at any time. So there’s no reason we have any less of a chance of beating them as they do of beating us,” Akins said.

Pulling off an upset – especially against Texas – is something this Cyclone team knows how to do. Just last season it was Iowa State who – behind a two-hit shutout by Alyssa Ransom – went on to pull off an improbable 1-0 win over the No. 2 Longhorns. The Cyclones said they hope to use some of the lessons learned from last year’s game in their attempt to repeat last year’s win.

“We got in some tough situations and we didn’t give up,” pitcher Alyssa Ransom said. “We shut out the Longhorns, and I think we can do it again this year we just have to make sure we play all seven innings.”

There may, however, be two Texas pitchers standing in the way of Iowa State’s plan for an upset. Pitchers Cat Osterman (22-1, 0.23 ERA) and Meagan Denny (14-2, 1.41 ERA) have propelled Texas to first in the Big 12 in earned run average (.73).

“Osterman is probably the best pitcher in the world,” Ransom said. “She makes mistakes, too, so if we figure out a way to make her mistakes hurt she can be beaten.”

The Cyclones, however, feel as though their duo of Amie Ford (1.47 ERA) and Alyssa Ransom (1.69) should give them a chance to match Texas.

“We can have a lot of success in our own circle,” said ISU coach Stacy Gemeinhardt. “I think it is a great match up of our pitchers versus their hitters, and their pitchers against our hitters.”

Ford and Ransom combine for an earned run average of 1.64, good for third in the Big 12.

In order to win this weekend, not only the Cyclone pitchers, but the rest of the team, as well, must be in top form – something that hasn’t been the case in their last two games. Iowa State is in the midst of a two-game skid after letting a big three-run inning get the best of them in a 3-2 loss to Drake on Wednesday. Big innings are something they can’t afford to allow against Texas.

“Against a team like Texas, it is going to be one run – one mistake – that makes the difference,” Akins said. “It is important that we’re not the ones making that mistake.”

If the Cyclones pull off the upset, it could be a huge momentum boost for the rest of the season, as well, for Iowa State’s program as a whole.

“I think it would be awesome just to show that last year wasn’t a fluke and that we can beat top-ranked teams. It would be gratifying for us, especially because we all feel very positive about this year.”