The 18-27 Iowa State softball team prepares to head to Iowa City on Wednesday to take on Iowa in the annual CyHawk game.

The Cyclones are coming off a series where they split with Colorado State this past weekend as they shook off some tough losses and got two big wins.

The Cyclones will look to continue their two-game winning streak as they will try to take down the Hawkeyes, who currently sit at 28-20 on the season.

Iowa State has taken the previous three matchups versus Iowa, and they will hope to make that streak longer with a win Wednesday in enemy territory.

The Hawkeyes will also look to take down the Cyclones, knowing they are down in the series. They are also coming off a tough weekend against Minnesota, so a bounce-back series is in their mind.

The Hawkeyes are coming off a three-game sweep, as they fell to Minnesota this past weekend. Iowa could only score a single run in that three-game series against the Golden Gophers as it will try to put up better numbers against the Cyclones.

Iowa State head coach Jamie Pinkerton has not lost to Iowa in his head coaching career, and he is coming off his 500th career win – 150th win with Iowa State – as he now prepares his team to travel for a big game.

“It’s a rivalry game,” Pinkerton said. “It’s gonna be fun to go play it, so we should be able to go over there and play a little ball.”

Senior Carli Spelhaug is coming off a two-home run day Saturday against Colorado State, and she now looks forward to facing off against the in-state rivals in the Hawkeyes.

“We’re pumped; we’re ready,” Spelhaug said. “We’re gonna practice hard Monday and Tuesday and get ready for Wednesday night.”

Senior Alesia Ranches hit her first home run of the season Saturday against the Rams. She kept it short and sweet in her preparation for Iowa on Wednesday by saying that the Cyclones were ready to go to war.

The CyHawk battle always draws lots of attention, so Iowa State will have to put on a show in Iowa City to keep its three-game winning streak against the Hawkeyes alive.

Iowa State will take on the Hawkeyes at 5 p.m. Wednesday in Iowa City as it looks to secure the yearly CyHawk trophy.