It doesn’t matter what pitcher the ISU softball team is facing.

Just scoring runs is starting to be a question mark for the team.

Iowa State dropped a 6-0 decision to No. 18 Nebraska on Wednesday. Summer Tobias, the Cornhuskers’ No. 2 pitcher, tossed a two-hit shut out, and Trisha Tannahill went 2-for-3 and knocked in three runs. Nebraska scored five runs in the fifth inning to seal the win.

“We had an opportunity to score runs because they didn’t throw Peaches James,” ISU head coach Ruth Crowe said. “Summer Tobias, she has a low ERA. She doesn’t have a winning record. She’s a good pitcher, but we weren’t as aggressive as we need to be.”

Crowe said lack of aggressiveness has been the story for the team this season.

“That has been our most inconsistent problem on the year,” Crowe said as her team is 9-20 overall and 1-4 in the Big 12. “We didn’t prevent the big inning. We have to be more aggressive. Alyssa threw really well until that big inning. She pretty much shut them down until that time. She’s got to learn as a freshman that if they start putting a rally together, we’ve got to get tougher and shut them down.”

Senior Julia Lindsey said the outcome was disappointing for the team.

“[We] kind of took a step or two big steps back,” Lindsey said. “We really didn’t even pose a threat, and I think that was the most disappointing part, especially when they threw their No. 2. That right there should be a huge advantage for us. We should jump on that, and we were just flat.”

Up next for the Cyclones will be a weekend series with Oklahoma State starting at 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday.

The Sooners bring a 20-20 overall record as of Thursday and are 0-4 in the conference.

Crowe said the Cowgirls are a lot like Iowa State.

“They’re inconsistent also,” Crowe said. “They’re really up and down with the graduation of Lauren Bay, who was their top pitcher last team. She was an outstanding pitcher in the Big 12. I think they’re much different, and I don’t know what to expect. They have a lot of new players.”

Oklahoma State is led by Shamel Scott, who is eighth in the conference in batting average with a .362, and Jessica Hoppock, who has 196 strikeouts.

As a team, Iowa State is last in batting average with a .191 average.

Lindsey said the team is hoping to change some things in order to capture the weekend series. The Cyclones have dropped three-straight contests and haven’t scored in their last three games.

“Offensively, we have to change our approach,” Lindsey said. “Defensively, we just have to stay sharper. Like Coach Crowe was pointing out on Wednesday, we’re kind of doing team things that a high school team can do. We’re at this level, we should get the lead runners out and we should look to go for two. We just need to be sharp in all areas.”