The fall season of softball begins this weekend as the Cyclones travel to Moline, Ill., to compete in the National Invitational Tour.

Although the tournament, one of four the Cyclones are planning on playing in, means little in the grand scheme of things, it does help head coach Ruth Crowe determine who on her young squad will be a factor once the spring season rolls around.

“It’s really just an opportunity to see where we are,” Crowe said.

“It sets the tone for the off-season.”

The players compete for positions on the team’s spring travel squad during the fall tournaments. Before the season officially begins in the spring, the team travels to many tournaments, always held in warm states during the months of February and March.

Keeping in mind that the fall is simply an evaluation time for the team, Crowe will go into Moline without a set lineup, but said it will definitely include the returning players.

She will filter in her new players as much as possible.

The team’s major contributors, sophomore catcher Ashley Killeen, sophomore pitcher Alyssa Ransom and senior outfielder Misty Kimura, have been saddled with high expectations.

“[Crowe] expects me to be a leader and one of the better people on the team,” Kimura said. “I don’t mind doing that.”

Ransom is expected to produce better results from the mound.

“That’s what I want too,” Ransom said on having the expectation of being a better pitcher. “I feel motivated about this season and I’m ready to get going to see if all that I did over the summer will pay off or not.”

Ransom spent all summer working on her pitching, which included adding a changeup to her pitching arsenal. She said that so far she’s been impressed with her results.

Crowe said the team needs to get better in the pitcher’s circle, with Ransom hopefully leading the way.

“As a team, you go as your pitching goes,” she said.

With four pitchers on the team, Ransom and fellow sophomore Katie Reichling are expected to be the 1-2 punch for the Cyclones.

Although the tournament will comprise both Division I teams as well as junior college teams, the softball squad expects that it can defeat the bigger schools just as easily as the smaller ones.

The Cyclones’ first opponent is Kiswaukee Community College at noon Saturday. Iowa State will next play Lewis University at 4 p.m., followed by Wisconsin-Green Bay at 6 p.m. On Sunday, the Cyclones will finish off the tournament by playing Olney Community College at noon.