After placing second-to-last in the Big 12 Conference and losing nearly 2.5 times more games than it won, the ISU softball team will use the fall season to prepare for spring.

“The fall doesn’t predict who will play in the spring,” said senior outfielder Misty Kimura. “Coach wants us to treat the fall as practice.”

The fall season comprises three tournaments and two scrimmage games. The first will be the National Invitation Tournament in Moline, Ill., on Sept. 11 and 12. The following weekend, the team will take on intrastate rival Iowa in Iowa City.

Cedar Falls will hold the Big Four tournament Sept. 25 and 26, with Iowa State hosting its own fall tournament Oct. 2 and 3.

The Cyclones went 13-31 overall last year and won only three of 16 games in conference play.

The Cyclones look to replace their best hitter, Julia Lindsey, who graduated in the spring. Lindsey finished her final season as a Cyclone with a .310 batting average, 40 hits and 10 RBIs. She was a co-recipient of the Most Valuable Player award as well as the team’s Best Offensive Player award.

Senior Kelly Wardein, who earned the team’s Golden Glove Award for best defense during the spring season, also graduated.

One player who will try to fill Lindsey’s shoes is Kimura.

In her effort last season, Kimura led the team in home runs with seven. Her 17 RBIs were second behind sophomore catcher Ashley Killeen’s 19.

Kimura’s .439 slugging percentage was the best on the team. She received the team’s Most Improved Player award at the end of the spring season.

Kimura is looking forward to a fresh start with new teammates and improved batting, which she spent all summer working on. Back home in California, she played on a 23-and under-team that helped her batting, she said.

“I want to hit consistently this season, and playing on that team really helped,” Kimura said. “I think I worked harder this summer than I have the two summers before.”

Sophomore pitcher Alyssa Ransom will need to bring a strong arm to the mound this season as she will likely be the Cyclones’ starting pitcher again this season.

In her first year as a collegiate athlete, Ransom appeared in 36 games and started 27 of them. Her record was 10-18 with a 2.95 earned run average while pitching three shutouts and fanning 136 batters.

Her efforts were rewarded with a share of the MVP honors with Lindsey.