Colorado State University Athletics
Softball Recap - Fall 2003
10/2/2003 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Fall Recap: The Rams dropped the first two games of the fall to Nebraska by scores of 6-4 and 3-0 before defeating Wayne State (9-1) and North Dakota State (5-1) to close out the Nebraska Big Red Fall Classic. The Rams then took two from Northern Colorado in Greeley by scores of 13-0 and 9-0. Colorado State returned home to win the Triple Crown Fall Classic. The Rams defeated Regis (5-0), Colorado School of Mines (3-2), Mesa State (10-1), UC Colorado Springs (8-2), and CSU-Pueblo (8-2).
Nine In A Row: After losing the first two games of the fall season to Nebraska, the Rams bounced back to defeat nine straight opponents to close out the fall.
Shutouts: The Rams recorded three shutouts in a row during their nine game winning streak, beginning with a 13-0 and 9-0 double header sweep of the Northern Colorado Bears, and ending with a 5-0 victory over Regis in their first game of the Triple Crown Fall Classic.
Outscoring The Opposition: The Rams lineup came alive again this fall as Colorado State scored 74 runs in 11 games or 6.7 runs per game. Meanwhile Rams pitchers held opponents to just 18 runs or 1.6 runs per game.
Padeway: Rachelle Padeway, a sophomore transfer from Northeastern Junior College, filled the void at third base for Colorado State during the fall season. The Rams will look to her for solid defense.
Tournament Time: Last Season Colorado State earned the Mountain West Conference?s automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals for the first time in league history after winning the conference tournament with a 3-1 victory over top-seeded San Diego State. It marked the Rams? second appearance in the NCAA Regionals, joining the 1997 Rams as the only teams to do so. Colorado State fell to top seeded Arizona in its first regional game, and was eliminated from the tournament after falling to Cal State Northridge.
Top Honors: Steph Roberts was named the Mountain West Co-Player of the Year by the league coaches. She was also named to the All-Conference team and was joined on the 20-player team by Ricki Walker, Megan Masser and senior third baseman Jennifer Mahoney. Head Coach Mary Yori was also named the Mountain West Coach of the Year.
Rewriting The Record Books: Last season?s team is ranked in the top five in the Colorado State record books in 11 different categories. They rank first in fielding percentage (.975) and homeruns (26), second in doubles (64), are tied for second in wins (37), third in slugging percentage (.390), opposition strikeouts (249) and winning percentage (.740), are tied for third in shutouts (14), rank fourth in RBI (180) and stolen bases (46) and are fifth in runs scored (199).
Ringing Them Up: Junior pitcher Megan Masser struck out 16 batters in the Mountain West Conference Tournament, followed by six more in the NCAA regionals, bringing her season total to 154. Masser?s total now ranks her third on the Colorado State single-season charts.
Closing the Gap: At the close of the 2002 season, Rams? opponents outscored Colorado State by 16 runs. Following the Rams? appearance in the NCAA Regionals in 2003, Colorado State had outscored its opponents by 67 runs.
Yori?s Success: Since taking over in Fort Collins three seasons ago, Mary Yori has led the Rams to an improved record each season, going 10-37 in 2001, 19-33 in 2002, and culminating with last season?s 37-15 mark, a record that earned Yori her first Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year award in 2003.
Returning Rams: Colorado State returns 11 of 16 players from last year?s team including four players (Ricki Walker, Steph Roberts, Brittany Burtner, and Kerry Farrell) who started all 52 games for the Rams in 2003. Those 11 returners accounted for 82 percent of the Ram?s runs, 83 percent of the team?s RBIs, and 85 of 96 extra-base hits or 88 percent. The team, not including the five non-returners, hit .278 on the season with a slugging percentage of .403, up 13 points from the .390 mark recorded by the entire 16 player roster.
Key Losses: The Rams lost five players from last spring?s team including two seniors (Katie Koch and Jennifer Mahoney), one junior (Allisa Thompso), one sophomore (Melanie Mahoney) and one freshman (Jessica Weikle). Katie Koch ended her career at Colorado State hitting .289 for the Rams and starting 14 of 29 games played in the outfield. Jennifer Mahoney started all 52 games for Colorado State hitting .272 and recording a fielding percentage of .929 at third base in her senior campaign. Allisa Thompson played in 12 games for the Rams, adding speed to the team as a pinch runner, and scoring five runs in 2003. Melanie Mahoney finished last season with a .272 batting average and started 18 of 26 games played in the field. She also recorded a record of 4-4 in 10 pitching appearances with an ERA of 2.98. Jessica Weikle worked with the Rams? pitching staff in the bullpen while backing up starting catcher Kerry Farrell.
Slugging It Out: Two Rams, Ricki Walker and Steph Roberts, ended the 2003 season with a slugging percentage above .600. Walker led the team with .660 and Roberts recorded a .613 mark. In 2002, the Rams did not have a player reach the .500 mark for slugging percentage. Walker led the team that season with a .472 slugging percentage. The last time that two Rams slugged over .600 was in 1998 when Sarah Fredstrom and Holly Schmillen recorded percentages of .648 and .609, respectively.
Defense Wins Championships: The Rams allowed an average of 2.54 runs per game in the 2003 season, en route to the the second NCAA Regional appearance in school history, the lowest total for a Colorado State team since the 1997 squad gave up an average of 2.4 runs per game, and finished one out away from a College World Series appearance. The Rams defense has continued to improve under the guidance of head coach Mary Yori, dropping the team?s runs allowed per game from 6.19 in 2001 to the 2.54 mark allowed last spring.
Mass-terful Performance: During the 2003 season Megan Masser struck out 154 opposing batters in 182.2 innings of work, averaging 0.85 strikeouts per inning and nearly six strikeouts per game. Masser?s 154 fans accounted for 62 percent of the Rams? total as a pitching staff.
Consecutive Starts: Kerry Farrell and Ricki Walker have started all 104 games for the Rams over the last two seasons. Steph Roberts has started and played in 103 of those, missing just one game in 2002.
