After dropping two of three games at No. 5 Oklahoma last weekend, the No. 10 Missouri softball team (34-10, 11-7 Big 12 Conference) found itself in a situation it wasn’t in last season. Losing seven Big 12 games means the Tigers cannot defend their conference title.

But even with that setback, coach Ehren Earleywine saw optimism in the notable offensive performance by sophomore utility player Mackenzie Sykes, who served as the primary leadoff hitter and center fielder for the weekend. She hit 4-for-11 during the weekend, including going 2-for-4 with the lone RBI in the final game.

“(She) had a nice weekend, that was a pleasant surprise,” Earleywine said of Sykes, who has started 12 of the team’s 18 league games. “I’ll run her out there in the leadoff place until she proves that she can’t. She’s been pretty consistent when we put her in there.”

For Sykes, it was just another weekend at the ballpark. She said there was no difference in her hitting leadoff and her coming off the bench to pinch-hit in the bottom of the seventh.

“I’ve just been trying to do whatever I can to help the team, and if that means leading off, then I need to have a good at bat to get us going,” Sykes said. “I try to keep doing the same thing every day, whether I’m in the starting lineup or not, that way I’m ready just in case I am. I just keep working hard.”

The ability to make the mental adjustment isn’t as easy as Sykes insists, Earleywine said.

“A lot of kids can’t endure that, but she can,” Earleywine said. “She just keeps on coming. The thing about her, that anyone who knows her knows, is that she is just a super consistent human being. She’s never really excited and she’s never really down. Mack is just steady. You know exactly what you’re going to get from her every day.”

This weekend won’t be an ordinary one for Sykes, as the Tigers will compete against Iowa State, one of three schools that recruited her throughout her high school career.

“I filled out a questionnaire,” Sykes said. “I committed pretty early (to Missouri), so I didn’t look at too many other places, but that was definitely an option.”

Sykes said the decision wasn’t tough for her because she grew up a Missouri fan, often attending football games with her father when she was younger.

Earleywine said he is looking to change up the lineup in the next few games since there isn’t a conference championship to worry about, so Sykes’ hot bat has come at a very convenient time.

“She’s a good person, and that’s what you like to see, good things happening to good people,” Earleywine said. “She’s never been in the top of our lineup, so this is probably a whole new, exciting time for her and I’m really happy for her.”

If she were anxious about the new opportunity, she wouldn’t show it.

“I’m not a very outspoken person and I tend to keep quiet, but I try to work hard and hopefully other people see that and follow,” Sykes said.

Earleywine said this tranquil attitude isn’t something often seen, and he can’t take credit for it.

“It’s nothing we’ve done, it’s just in her,” Earleywine said. “It’s the way she was raised. She’s got really good, consistent parents. She does it in the classroom, too, and I’m sure she’s never had an ounce of alcohol touch her lips. She’s just one of those people that is on a completely different level than the rest of us.”

Sykes and the Tigers are set to face the Iowa State Cyclones at 4 p.m. Friday at Southwest Athletic Complex in Ames, Iowa.