After a string of defeats, the Cyclone softball team is preparing for a new challenge: playing its first in-state game of the season. Iowa State (15-27, 0-9 Big 12) will play Drake (19-19, 3-9 MVC) in Des Moines at 4 p.m. Tuesday.

Although this is the first in-state game of the season, it was not originally supposed to be. Iowa State was set to host UNI on March 29 but did not get the chance to play the game as they were rained out.

Head coach Jamie Trachsel said she is excited to play Drake because it is an opportunity to grow and a chance to play another in-state team.

The Cyclones are currently on a streak of losses. They have lost their past 11 games, and have yet to win a conference game this season. They have also fallen to Drake in the past, as they split the two games against the Bulldogs last season. However, Trachsel has not given up on her team.

“We’ve been happy with our progress,” Trachsel said. “We’re not really consumed with the wins and losses. We know they’re important obviously, but we’ve also played our toughest opponents.”

Over the weekend, the Cyclones travelled to Waco, Texas, to play No. 13 Baylor. Trachsel noted one of the Cyclones’ flaws over the weekend was being unable to close out an inning defensively once two outs were on the board, and she said that Baylor out-executed them in each game.

Although those three losses over the weekend only added to the streak of defeats, Trachsel said she believed they helped the team.

“I thought as a staff and as a team, it was our most complete three games against the level of competition that we’ve played the entire season,” Trachsel said. “That was our best three-game series of execution we’ve had this year, and we got better each game.”

The Cyclones have now played Baylor, Nebraska and Oklahoma, all teams that Trachsel believes to be the hardest competition the Cyclones will face all season. Both Oklahoma and Baylor are ranked in the top 15 in the country. Now that the Cyclones have these three tougher teams under their belt, Trachsel said the remainder of the season will be the most exciting time for them.

“We’re ready to attack the month in front of us,” Trachsel said. “I actually think it’s going to be the most consistent month of play this entire season.”