Mother Nature has put a halt on the Iowa State softball team this week as they were supposed to host two key games.

The schedule had Iowa State facing in-state rivals Drake and Northern Iowa, but both games were canceled due to snow.

But after gaining some momentum from last weekend’s split with No. 3 Oklahoma, the Cyclones will do battle with Big 12 Conference opponent Missouri in Columbia, Mo. today in a doubleheader. First pitch is set for 3:30 p.m.

The Cyclones won Saturday’s game 2-1 as freshman right-hander Kristen Karanzias threw a complete game two-hitter. Karanzias allowed one earned run, struck out four and didn’t allow a walk.

ISU head coach Ruth Crowe said beating the No. 3 team in the nation is a step in the right direction for the team.

“Any time you take a game from a team in the top half of the conference, that’s pretty good,” Crowe said. “We just out-played them in Saturday’s game. We drilled the ball. You have to give credit to the kids. We showed up with the intensity more than they did.”

In Saturday’s game, junior outfielder Kelly Wardein hit a grounder to the Sooners’ second baseman, but a mishandle on the ball allowed senior third baseman Adi Blackmon to score from third to give Iowa State a 1-0 lead.

An Oklahoma home run by Heather Scaglione tied the game, but senior infielder Molly McNertney drilled a double and brought home senior catcher Katie Ruby from first to put the Cyclones on top 2-1, which turned out to be the final score.

In Sunday’s game, the Sooners scored six runs in the first two innings and went on to win 10-1. Oklahoma roughed up sophomore pitcher/first baseman Lindsey Herrin as she was only able to last 1 1/3 innings, giving up five hits and five earned runs. She also had no strikeouts and walked two batters. Senior pitcher Jen Bice and Karanzias came in relief for the Cyclones.

“Lindsey struggled on the mound,” Crowe said. “They were aggressive at the plate and we weren’t. On any given game, you have to show up and play.”

After moving to 14-20 overall and 2-5 in the conference after the weekend series with the Sooners, Iowa State will try to beat a Missouri team that is playing under first-year head coach Ty Singleton and is riding a four-game winning streak.

“They’re very tough. They have a 5-2 record in the conference and they have a chip on their shoulder,” Crowe said. “They were picked to finish second to last this season, but they have a new coach and have played better. They got some good players. We just have to show up and be ready to go.”

It also appears that the Cyclones will be facing Big 12 pitcher of the week Erin Kalka, who has a record of 12-7 and a ERA of 2.11

“We need to be swinging at good pitches,” Crowe said. “In all the pitching in the Big 12, you got to swing at good pitches and not bad pitches.”

After playing Missouri, the team will host Baylor on Saturday and Sunday at the Southwest Athletic Complex. Saturday’s first pitch is set for 2 p.m. and Sunday’s game will start at 1 p.m.