ISU softball kicks off Big 12 conference play this weekend with a three-game set against Baylor. 

With three key matchups against the second-best team in the Big 12, the Cyclones could use these games to spring themselves to the top of the conference standings.

Here are the five things you need to know before the team’s first pitch this Friday:

The Cyclones only went 3-15 against conference opponents last year

Iowa State plays in one of the most competitive conferences in NCAA softball. With powerhouse teams like Baylor, Kansas and Oklahoma in the Big 12, Iowa State has its work cut out for it.

Those three teams alone have won a combined 71 games this season, while the rest of four remaining Big 12 teams have won a combined 67 games.

Baylor won the season series last season, 2-1

The Baylor Bears have been one of the top teams in the Big 12 in the last few years, going a combined 25-11 the last two seasons.

The Bears are currently 28-7 on the season, a perfect 2-0 in Big 12 play. They are also a perfect 4-0 on the road this season.

Baylor’s is a very complete team

The Bears currently feature three of the top 10 pitchers in the Big 12, with senior Heather Stearns leading the conference with a 1.47 ERA.

Baylor overall is just one below Texas in team pitching, with a 2.24 ERA, but have a hefty lead in strikes outs with 203 punch-outs on the season.

With a team batting average of .309 and six players batting over .300, Baylor has one of the strongest lineups in the Big 12.

Sarah Smith and Jessica Scroggins are the two hitters that Cyclone pitchers will have to key on, with Smith tied for the RBI lead with 35 runs driven.

Scroggins is the current Big 12 leader in hits with 40 and is only five stolen bases away from ISU’s Brittany Gomez.

Iowa State’s pitching has been solid this year

Behind the freshman duo of Savannah Sanders and Emma Hylen, the Cyclone’s pitching staff has received a much needed boost.

Currently the team is fourth in the Big 12 with a 2.91 ERA, with Hylen featuring a 1.57 ERA in her first years as a Cyclone.

Iowa State’s offense has been “Hit or Miss”

The Cyclones have been truly prolific offensively in the past under coach Stacy Gemeinhardt-Cesler, but this year the club has had a tough time consistently pushing runs across.

When the team score runs though, they score in bunches. However, the Cyclones haven’t been able to score a ton of runs recently, losing a lot of low scoring games.