Big 12 play opens Friday for Iowa State softball with their 32nd-straight game away from their home diamond.

“It’s become second nature,” head coach Jamie Pinkerton said, discussing the consecutive road games. “What I love about this program over the last four and a half years is that we’ve learned how to win on the road.”

This time, Austin, Texas, is the destination and the No. 21 Texas Longhorns are the opponent as the two teams play a three-game set beginning Friday.

Texas (23–10–1) has played 16 games at home this season and suffered two losses in those games, including the team’s most recent outing against Louisiana, which Texas lost 6-5 in extra innings.

Iowa State is currently 19–13 (.590) and playing exclusively road or neutral site games. Before Big 12 play began last season, Iowa State was 23–5, also without playing any home game. In 2021, the Cyclones went 6–12 in Big 12 play and made the NCAA regionals for the first time in several decades.  

It’s a goal to reach the upper tier of the Big 12 Conference, Pinkerton said. Iowa State was fifth in the final standings and fourth at the Big 12 tournament a season ago. And based on overall records, Iowa State is fourth in the standings, directly behind Texas.

“We strive to win series and try to steal games that are unexpected,” Pinkerton said. “Our whole season still lies ahead of us.”

Iowa State hasn’t won a series against Texas since 2017. In the season before Pinkerton’s first with the team, Iowa State recorded two wins in Austin in mid-April. Iowa State has just four wins against Texas all time.

To steal an unexpected game from the Longhorns, Iowa State will need to provide more timely hits and record more timely outs, according to their head coach.

In Iowa State’s first matchup with BYU, the team left 10 runners on base and allowed the Cougars a game-deciding nine-run rally with two outs. In the final game of the series, the Cyclones stranded nine runners on the base paths.

It’s scenarios with runners on base that Iowa State is drilling in practice. But the pressure and competitive atmosphere are hard to replicate, Pinkerton said. Having simulated situations for batters while pitch counts are high for the rotation is a balancing act for Pinkerton and his staff.

“It’s huge. We always talk about situational hitting,” leadoff hitter Carli Spelhaug said shortly after a 7–6 loss to Drake in which Iowa State left 10 runners stranded. The goal then was to not change the mental approach in high-pressure situations, Spelhaug said.

Spelhaug herself has found the way to the plate. The junior averages 1.34 runs per game, which ranks third nationally.

For Texas, head coach Mike White will rely on a balanced offensive lineup. Seven Longhorn batters have a batting average above .300.

The Longhorn ace is senior Haley Dolcini. The team leader in innings pitched received national pitcher of the week honors March 29. Dolcini has three solo shutouts in 2022 and limits opponents to a .154 batting average.

The series begins at 6 p.m. Friday in Austin, Texas. Saturday’s game begins at 1 p.m., and Sunday’s game begins at noon.