Iowa State is set to compete as the No. 3 seed in the Big 12 Softball Championship this week in Oklahoma City. Games begin Wednesday and the Championship game will take place Saturday.
Texas Tech enters the tournament as the No. 1 seed and is the clear favorite with a 20-4 record in conference play.
As the No. 3 seed, the Cyclones have a first-round bye and will play the winner of No. 6 BYU and No. 11 Houston at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. BYU and Houston will face off in a battle of Cougars at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
The Cyclones wrapped up their season at 30-22 overall and 15-9 in conference play. They enter the tournament on a two-game win streak after taking the final pair in their three-game series against Baylor.
Iowa State won six of its eight Big 12 series this season. What sticks out is that the only two it dropped were to Houston and BYU.
Houston was the Cyclones’ first conference opponent this year in early March, and the Cougars won two of the three meetings. Iowa State claimed the first game, 10-8, but dropped the final two, 6-2 and 3-2.
When Iowa State and BYU battled in early April, BYU also won the last two games after losing the first and ended the series with a 13-0 trouncing. The Cougars’ power proved too much for Iowa State in that game. Ilove’a Brittingham and Lindy Milkowski both had two home runs in the contest, combining for seven RBIs.
Power-hitting teams have been a tough matchup for the Cyclones all season. Another game in which that was evident was in the ugliest loss of the season against Florida. The Gators won 24-3 in five innings and set a program record for most runs scored in a single game.
This could prove to be a challenge in a matchup against BYU. They have hit 77 home runs this year, led by Brittingham with 20.
Iowa State is 2-10 all-time against BYU. The Cougars were only marginally worse than the Cyclones in conference play at 13-11, yet had a better overall record at 31-16.
All that said, softball is all about getting hot at the right time, and right now, the Cyclones are. They are 7-3 in their last 10 and turned their season around in April.
Houston’s season has been a different story, as it went 4-18 in conference play. Two of those wins came over Iowa State, which is a much better team now than they were in early March.
The Cougars are 2-8 in their last 10. It appears likely that their Big 12 Championship dreams will fall on Wednesday against BYU, which swept them earlier this season.
If the Cyclones can win their game Thursday, they will have two more games to win to secure the Big 12 Championship. They will have to first face the winner of Arizona vs. UCF or Utah on Friday, and then likely Texas Tech or Oklahoma State in the final, although there are paths for Arizona State, Baylor and Kansas to face the Cyclones in the final as well.
The Cyclones are closer to the Championship this year than they ever have been, but there is work to be done. BYU could prove to be a tough matchup in the quarterfinals and a potential meeting with Texas Tech in the final is a tough matchup for nearly every team in the country.
The Red Raiders have been a buzzsaw this season. They are 42-12 and 20-4 in conference play. In a single-elimination tournament, anything is possible, but anything less than an appearance in the finals would be a shocking disappointment for Texas Tech.
The Big 12 Championship begins with Baylor vs. Kansas at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, and will take place at Devon Park in Oklahoma City. Every game until the final will be live-streamed on ESPN+. The Big 12 Championship game will be broadcast on ESPN.
