The ISU softball team will receive its last chance at intrastate redemption Tuesday, as it travels to Iowa City to face the No. 20 Hawkeyes.

The game will also determine the victor of the first-ever Hy-Vee Cy-Hawk Series, which is neck-and-neck going into this final contest.

Iowa holds a slim 9-8 lead over the Cyclones, with Tuesday’s game the final piece of the rotation. The winner of the softball game will receive the final two points of the series.

Although Iowa State’s in-state rivalries started promisingly with a win over Drake, the Cyclones dropped two games to Northern Iowa.

The team will face its toughest in-state challenge against powerhouse Iowa, which is holding its own in the Big 10.

The Hawkeyes are 37-9 overall and 8-4 in the Big 10, including a doubleheader sweep of Penn State on Sunday.

“Iowa is really good, and they are good in every aspect of the game,” said ISU coach Ruth Crowe.

Hawkeye pitcher Lisa Birocci is consistently leading her team by holding opponents to a .185 batting average, as well as throwing the second-most innings of any Big 10 hurler. In her 21 wins this season, she has 194 strikeouts, as well as six saves.

“We will definitely need more people stepping up this game,” said ISU catcher Ashley Killeen. “Iowa is always good, and they have a very good pitcher. We have to bring our ‘A’ game and just keep going at it.”

Freshman Emily Nichols is making an impact for the Hawkeyes with 39 RBIs thus far, good enough for fourth in the Big 10.

She has also accumulated 15 home runs — third best in the conference — and a .339 batting average.

Stacy May is second in the conference with 12 doubles, while Mindy Heidgerken is fourth in stolen bases, with 16. May is batting .320 this season, and teammate Kylie Murray is on her heels with a .318 mark.

Iowa State fell to the Hawkeyes in last year’s contest, a 4-0 decision that only produced three hits from the Cyclones.

Misty Kimura had two hits, including a double, and Jessica Quade provided the third.

The win was enough to pump the Hawkeyes’ all-time record against Iowa State to 23-10.

The Cyclones feel the key to their success will be contributions from all players in the lineup, as well as getting key hits at key times. Iowa State won its first conference game of the year against Big 12 foe Oklahoma State on Saturday, but dropped the second game of the series Sunday.

“I feel that, besides at Missouri, we’ve really been in all of our games so far,” Crowe said. “We feel that win was what we needed to turn a corner in this season. We just don’t have enough firepower yet to finish a game.”