The Iowa State softball team will play its third game against No. 15 Missouri in 11 days, but today’s game will hold more importance than the April 19th doubleheader at the Southwest Athletic Complex.

That is because today’s 5 p.m. game at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City pits the eighth-seeded Cyclones against the ninth-seeded Tigers in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament. The winner will play top-seeded Nebraska on Friday at 10 a.m.

Iowa State dropped a doubleheader at No. 21 Minnesota on Tuesday, losing 4-0 and 3-1. On April 19, ISU and Missouri split the doubleheader, marking the only contests between the two teams this season.

The Tigers won the first game, 2-1, and the Cyclones won the second game, 4-1. The doubleheader capped a weekend for the ISU where the team went 4-1, including a doubleheader sweep of Kansas and an upset of then-No. 17 Iowa.

“I think that weekend proved that we can play with good teams and win,” ISU third baseman Kimi Yoshizawa said. “It really helped our confidence.”

The ISU roster includes only three seniors out of 17 players. Yoshizawa, a freshman starter, said seniors Missy Danilson, Renae Hunting and Jaime Kahler have provided good leadership this season.

“A lot of us young players looked up to them for support and responsibility, and I think they did a great job of providing it,” Yoshizawa said.

ISU is currently in a five-game losing streak, but all five losses have come via rated teams, including No. 5 Oklahoma and No. 12 Oklahoma State, in addition to Minnesota.

Yoshizawa said the highlight of the regular season for her was the 2-1 upset at arch-rival Iowa on April 16. The upset came two days after the Cyclones split a home doubleheader against Missouri-Kansas City.

“I think the Iowa game was a turning point for the season, after we had what was the low point of the season by splitting with (Missouri-Kansas City),” Yoshizawa said. “We kind of went from one extreme to the other in two days, from the low point of the season to the high point.”

Sophomore utility player Michelle Junod leads the Cyclones going in the Big 12 Tournament with a .313 batting average, while junior Erin Woods is second on the team at .283.

Kristin Ferguson and Mandy Loushin are ISU’s two main pitchers. Ferguson has a 1.51 ERA and a 6-9 record, and Loushin has a 1.80 ERA and is 9-13.

Missouri freshman pitching phenom Stephanie Falk handcuffed the Cyclone batters on April 19. Falk pitched a no-hitter for 5 1/2 innings in the first game in picking up the win, but the ISU hitters got to Falk in the second game to gain the split.