The Iowa State softball team is heading to Minnesota Sunday for its last two games of the 2023 fall season. The Cyclones are competing against North Dakota State and Minnesota.
The Cyclones came out on top in the Big Four Classic a week prior against three in-state rivals. Iowa State head coach Jamie Pinkerton believed that the pitching has been the best part of the recent success and the fall season as a whole.
“I think overall that this past weekend pitching was really good in all three games,” Pinkerton said. “Pitching has definitely been the best part of our fall so far, the staff has done a good job.”
During moments in the Big Four Classic, the Cyclones felt that they could improve during the game and come together. Senior catcher Camille Marin focused most on the team dynamic and coming together during those tough moments.
“Through the midst of trial and error, and those moments when we could do better and should do better, the team came together,” Marin said. “After the Iowa game, not the outcome we wanted, but we all came together in a moment of we are okay.”
Marin and the Cyclones are going to continue playing together and keep the communication flowing into the weekend’s matchup. Most of all, keeping the dynamic of what Iowa State softball is has been the center of their game on and off the field.
Before heading to Minnesota, the Cyclones are going to continue working on getting more reps and seeing what different combinations work best. At the moment, the team doesn’t have control on what they are trying to work on.
“A lot of things right now they can’t control,” Pinkerton said. “The lineups haven’t been set up and we’re shuttling people around, so I would just like to see them stay focused and continue to do what they do well.”
As the last weekend of the fall season comes around, the Cyclones are going to bring the energy on and off the field. Marin is excited to play Iowa State softball and come out together as a team against the tough competition they are going to see.
“The way we come out, once we play those tougher teams and those tougher moments and tougher games, it brings out a different kind of energy,” Marin said. “Knowing the energy that comes in the dugout and the energy when we string hits together is what I’m most excited about this weekend.”
The Iowa State softball team will first be taking on the Gophers at noon Sunday and then play its final game against the Bison at 2 p.m. Sunday in Minneapolis.
