The Iowa State softball team finished up a three-game series versus Texas on Sunday, ending another rough stretch of conference defeats for the Cyclones.

To kick off the series, the Cyclones fell to the Longhorns 8-5 on Friday. With a strong start to the Cyclone offense in the bottom of the first, the game felt reachable. The Longhorns answered with seven runs in the top of the second, diminishing Iowa State’s hopes.

The next two games weren’t close from then on out.

Offensive momentum

The Cyclones battled back a bit with a home run from sophomore Carli Spelhaug on Friday, but it wasn’t enough to beat Texas. After scoring a two-run homer in the bottom of the first, the Cyclones lost momentum on offense and couldn’t get it back, thus beginning a theme of the weekend.

In Saturday’s game versus the Longhorns, the Cyclones weren’t able to create offensive momentum until the bottom of the third, but by then the Longhorns were able to maintain a 7-2 lead. An RBI double allowed the Cyclones to inch closer to the Longhorns and a single up the middle followed.

The Longhorns were able to capitalize and add three more runs to close out Saturday. When the Cyclones had the opportunities to keep the offense going, undisciplined base running and at bats lowered their chances.

In the final matchup versus Texas, the Cyclones weren’t able to put up any runs and were beat by the Longhorns 10-0. In order to compete with a team like Texas, even the scrappiest plays would progress the Cyclone team.

Defensive errors

The weekend series versus Texas allowed the Cyclones to see their own worst enemy was themselves.

Even the smallest errors on defense piled up for the Cyclones, and the Longhorns were able to see that and capitalize on it.

After the series versus Texas, the Cyclones have the ability to focus on themselves internally and see what can be changed for team communication and defensive and offensive strength.

With future back-to-back games versus Drake and Northern Iowa, the Cyclones have the ability to get back to the basics in order to find what’s missing.

Possibilities for the team

Carli Spelhaug has been leading the Cyclone offense averaging .358, so keeping her at the top of the lineup will allow the Cyclones to focus on setting the table early.

Junior Shannon Mortimer had one of her first outings since her injury Sunday, pitching from the third inning on.

The potential for her to join the rotation with sophomores Ellie Spelhaug and Karlie Charles could provide much-needed depth for the Cyclones’ pitching efforts.

Looking into the rest of the season, the Cyclones face three more Big 12 teams before the Big 12 Championship in the middle of May.

The puzzle of defensive communication, solid pitching efforts and offensive attacking could lead the Cyclones down the road of playing like they were to start the season once again.

The Cyclones begin this coming week by playing Drake on Tuesday in Ames and traveling to Northern Iowa on Wednesday.