The ISU softball team will try to bounce back against Drake after a tough road stretch. The Cyclones will try and refocus to establish some momentum for Big 12 play.

The Cyclones got their first taste of conference play with a three-game series in Norman, Okla. against the fifth ranked Sooners. Oklahoma proved to be too much for the Cyclones, beating them in all three games.

The Cyclones return home won’t be an easy tune-up against a talented Drake team. The Bulldogs are 20-12, and are in first place in the Missouri Valley Conference. They are also entering the game on a four-game winning streak after sweeping Loyola at home.

The Bulldogs are led by ace pitcher Rebekah Schmidt, who is 11-8 with a 2.76 ERA and is second in the conference in strikeouts. They are no slouch on offense either, with a team batting average of .267. They are also second in the conference with a .430 slugging percentage.

The Cyclones have been preparing for pitchers like Schmidt with an interesting practice technique. They use pitching machines set to unorthodox spin patterns to work on each player’s pure hitting ability.

“The machines we hit throw crazy spin,” said senior shortstop Lexi Slater. “When we get in a real game, it really helps us because the pitches look like beach balls to us.”

This technique has helped bolster the ISU offense, which has posted a collective batting average of .311 and is staying extremely disciplined at the plate with the second fewest walks in the conference. The Cyclones have also been lethal on the base path, tied for first in the conference in stolen base percentage.

“We just want the team to get comfortable with the pitches that they’re going to see during games,” said ISU coach Stacy Gemeinhardt-Cesler.

This philosophy of smart at-bats, combined with their effective pitching, should help the Cyclones come up with a potentially winning formula against any opponent. Iowa State will try and bounce back against Drake at the Cyclone Sports Complex on Wednesday.