After dropping two Big 12 Conference games with No. 17 Oklahoma State on Monday, ISU head softball coach Ruth Crowe had a lengthy discussion with her team out in right field.

Reality check.

It came just minutes after the Cyclones were defeated by the Cowgirls 9-1 in six innings and 7-4 in the nightcap.

One of the reasons Crowe wasn’t happy with the team’s performance was they committed five errors in two games.

“We didn’t play very well. We played pretty much today like we’ve played all year long, with the same pervading attitude from our team — that they can just show up and everything is going to be all right,” said Crowe, who saw her squad fall to 18-25 overall and 5-10 in the conference. “It’s the same attitude that made us drop games early this year to unranked teams that we had no business losing to.”

Crowe also said the team’s lack of heart is one of the reasons why the team is seven games under .500.

“It’s great when you have comeback wins and everything, but you’ve got to be able to show up every day,” Crowe said. “And that’s a characteristic of this particular team. They don’t know how to show up.”

During the first game, Oklahoma State went up 3-0 in the top of the third inning on a two-run home run from Ryan Realmuto that barely cleared the right field fence. The Cowgirls took advantage of three Cyclones errors in the fourth inning and scored three unearned runs.

OSU pitcher Sarah Seagrave, only a freshman, improved to 11-0 on the season as she tossed a six-hit complete game to earn the win on the mound. She struck out seven and walked one. Realmuto went 3-for-4 at the plate with three RBIs.

ISU senior pitchers Erica Martinez and Jen Bice combined to allow 11 hits, five earned runs, four strikeouts and one walk. Junior second baseman Julia Lindsey went 2-for-2 at the plate.

Lindsey said the team panicked the first game, which was halted because of the eight-run rule.

“We weren’t as relaxed — kind of out of control,” Lindsey said. “It was just contagious throughout everybody.”

In the nightcap, freshman right-hander Kristen Karanzias started on the mound for the Cyclones. She lost some control in the first inning as the Cowgirls scored three runs off three walks and a two-run double from Megan Carey.

Iowa State settled down and cut the lead to 3-2 in the second inning behind a solo home run from Misty Kimura and Lindsey’s RBI single to center, which scored Kim Rodgers.

The Cyclones would tie the game in the third inning as Martinez scored on a Cary Akins infield single. Kelly Wardein tried to score on the play from second but was tagged out at home on a throw from the shortstop.

The Cyclones appeared to be able to push across a couple more runs in the fifth inning, but weren’t able to come through. With runners on second and third, senior Adi Blackmon hit a sharp ground ball to Cowgirls first baseman Stephanie Hodges. Blackmon appeared to be out on the play, but Hodges bobbled the ball. However, Blackmon was ruled out for elbowing Hodges as she ran by the OSU player. It was the third out and no runs scored on the play.

Crowe had a different opinion with the umpire’s call on the play by Blackmon, which turned out to be crucial in the game for Oklahoma State.

“I didn’t agree with that call. Adi is not that type of player,” Crowe said. “She’s not a dirty player. She doesn’t drop her shoulder. She has a right to get to that base.”

With the game knotted at 3-3, the Cowgirls (34-9, 12-3) scored four runs in the top of the seventh.

Lindsey said when Crowe gave her speech after the game, it hit the team pretty hard.

“It was kind of a reality check to us,” Lindsey said. “It was obvious that we played pretty bad today. It was a check-in and that’s what we needed to hear, really.”