The ISU softball squad returned to Big 12 play last weekend with a doubleheader against Texas, the third-best team in the league.

In the first game, the Longhorns jumped to an early 2-0 lead in the first inning and never looked back. They added four more runs in the sixth and emerged with a 6-0 victory.

Junior Kimi Yoshizawa was 1-of-2 at bat and senior Cinnamon Gooding also contributed a hit. Senior Mandy Loushin took the loss, giving up two runs on eight hits, striking out two.

Freshman pitcher Erica Martinez allowed four runs on as many hits, recording two strike-outs.

In the second game of the doubleheader, Iowa State took a 1-0 lead when senior Robyn Riedler scored on a RBI single by sophomore Amberly Lessenger.

Riedler said the first game served as a wake-up call.

“After the first game, we knew they had come to play and we got off to a much better start in the second game,” she said.

Texas was held scoreless until the top of the seventh inning when a two-run homerun by the Longhorns gave them a 2-1 win.

Freshman pitcher Jen Bice took the loss for the Cyclones, giving up two runs on four hits with eight strike-outs.

Riedler was 1-of-3 at bat, while senior Lisa Frank, freshman Adi Blackmon and senior Michelle Junod each contributed a hit.

On Tuesday, Iowa State traveled to second place Nebraska.

Despite connecting for seven hits, the Cyclones were unable to score and fell 6-0 to the Huskers.

Nebraska lead 3-0 after four innings of play, but delivered the fatal blow with a three-run homer in the fifth.

Iowa State was lead by Gooding, who was 2-of-3 at the plate. Frank went 2-for-4, and Riedler, Junod and Lessenger each added a hit.

Although Bice (8-5) recorded the loss, the Cyclones utilized three different pitchers.

Junior Kristin Ferguson allowed three runs on three hits and Loushin gave up no runs on one hit.

Riedler said that the team’s biggest challenge right now is hitting.

“We’re consistently good on defense, but we really need to improve on our hitting, getting runners in,” she said.

Riedler’s sentiment was echoed by ISU head coach Ruth Crowe, who admitted that things haven’t been easy.

“We’ve kind of hit the skids lately,” she said. “We’re not pitching or hitting well and that makes things tough.”

Although the Cyclones are currently ranked 9th in the Big 12, Crowe said that the strength of the conference has a lot to do with it.

“There is not a weak team in the conference,” she said. “We usually send six or seven teams to the NCAA tournament and that says a lot about the quality of our competition.

“Sometimes you have to play some teams that aren’t so good to kind of get a win under your belt and get your confidence back, and we really don’t have that luxury,” she said. “It’s like trying to crawl out of a frying pan.”

However Crowe said she and her team remain optimistic.

“We have five conference games left. If we can sweep Kansas this weekend, and if Missouri loses their weekend games, we could see a considerable jump in the rankings,” she said. “So it will be a big weekend for us.”

The Cyclones are 15-21 overall and 3-10 in the Big 12. Thursday’s game against Northern Iowa was cancelled.

Iowa State will resume action this weekend with games against Kansas.