Spring is here, trust the calendar and not the weather in Ames. Spring weather or not, Iowa State softball is back in Ames. 

The Cyclones (18-18, Big 12 1-2) are facing the Texas Longhorns (16-13, Big 12 3-0) in a three-game series in Ames for the second weekend of conference play.

This will be head coach Jamie Pinkerton’s first game at the Cyclone Sports Complex as the official head coach since his tenure in Ames as an assistant coach during the 2010-13 seasons.

“Obviously I’m excited for a lot of reasons,” Pinkerton said. “We get to sleep on our own bed, we can get into a routine.

”I think we’ll start playing a little more relaxed ball, but obviously we’ve had one practice in our own field, so definitely you can’t call it home field advantage yet. But it’s definitely nice.”

The Cyclones are coming back from a 1-2 weekend against Big 12 foe Oklahoma State, winning their last game 5-4 in a long showdown of 12 innings. A Taylor Nearad home run in the top of the 12th inning sealed the upset win.

In their first game, Iowa State struggled to create hits into runs, going for a single run on seven hits. On the other hand, the Cowgirls created every hit into a run.

Brianna Weilbacher took the loss for the Cyclones, allowing four earned runs on eight hits, and struck out two batters in six innings of play.

On the second day of action, the Cyclones lost a seven-inning game, blowing a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning, where the Cyclones allowed a six-run offensive explosion.

Emma Hylen took the loss for the Cyclones, allowing four earned runs on six hits, with two strikeouts. Savannah Sanders would come in to relieve Hylen, but could not gather the win.

Game three saw the Cyclones come back from a four-run deficit, initiated by a Kaylee Bosworth hit that allowed Sydney Stites to run for a score in the top of sixth. Logan Schaben then stepped up, hitting a home run to bring the game to a two-run deficit. Stites would tie up the game with a two-run home run. The game would be decided by Nearad’s home run in the top of 12th.

“It’s weird, when I get in those moments, I’m calm. I just tell myself, just hit something hard, get a little base hit, get [Sami Williams] home,” said Stites on the tying run.

The Cyclones are coming into this game with a .965 fielding percentage, which ranks around bottom of the top-100 in the country, but the Cyclones’ defense came out big this weekend in the third game.

In the bottom of the 11th, the defense found itself with the bases loaded, but Hylen forced a ground ball, and scored a 1-2-3 double play to avoid the Cowgirls walk-off victory.

Nychole Antillon, a senior out of Orange, California, was a huge part in getting the double play to keep the Cyclones in the game.

“Honestly, it’s what I live for. I would not want to be in another place,” Antillon said. “It gets so exciting, you don’t know if you’re gonna be able to get the three outs, you don’t know if that person is gonna get the run. It’s the not knowing that makes it more fun.”

The Cyclones will face an offensive team in Texas, who is coming in with a slightly higher batting average of .253, to Iowa State’s .252.

However, the Cyclones will need to shift their attention to the Longhorns’ .974 fielding percentage that sits in the top 25.

The Longhorns are coming in on a four-game winning streak, beating No. 25 Texas State once and Kansas three times.

“Texas is always a tough team, its gonna be a good match up this weekend. And I think they’re scrappy team,” Hylen said. “I know last year we had a very good series with them, and I expect the same this year.”

Texas is coming in with Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Week Brooke Bolinger, who is coming off a 2-0 record against Kansas with a spotless 0.00 ERA. That included 10 strike outs and four hits over her 9.1 innings of pitching, limiting opponents to a .138 batting average.

She will have to face the likes of Stites, Williams and Kaylee Bosworth.

Williams, who was slowed down this weekend by the Oklahoma State bull pen, is still carrying a .386 batting average and a .677 slugging average.

Stites is hitting .298, but do not let the numbers fool you. Stites has made impactful hits this season, having at least one hit in 11 out of the last 12 games.

“I really wasn’t confident on my hitting. I think just as the season progressed, I’ve fixed the little mechanical things that I needed to fix on my swing,” Stites said. “I think it’s helped me during the season.” 

The Cyclones will begin their home games on Thursday at 4 p.m.