Colorado State University Athletics
Softball Splits With Cougars On The Road
5/1/2004 12:00:00 AM | Softball
The Colorado State softball team came away with a doubleheader split against BYU Saturday afternoon to finish their last road trip of the season with a 3-1 record after sweeping Utah on Friday. A seventh-inning rally by the Rams in the first game fell short as the team suffered a 4-3 loss. Colorado State rallied from the loss to win game two by a 1-0 margin. The Rams are now 36-13 on the season and have compiled a record of 12-4 in Mountain West play.
In game one Stephanie Roberts doubled in Stacey Leigh for the Rams? first run in the fifth inning. Tthe Rams scored their final two runs with two outs in the top of the seventh inning. Freshman Jessica Strickland led off the seventh inning and reached base on an error by the shortstop before Leigh doubled down the left field line to advance Strickland to third. After a pinch-hit ground out to the pitcher by Genevieve Kelly, centerfielder Katie Dean knocked in Strickland from third on a ground out to the second baseman. Roberts earned a free pass followed by an RBI single down the right field line by Brittany Burtner, scoring Leigh from from third. Senior Ricki Walker stepped up to the plate with the tying runner, Roberts, on third base, but was forced into a ground out to first base for the final out of the game.
The Rams fell behind early by a 4-0 score as BYU notched two runs in both the bottom of the second and fourth innings. In the second, third baseman Ashlyn Russel crossed the plate on a bases loaded walk by Rams? pitcher Megan Masser and right fielder Lauren Watson scored one batter later on a wild pitch. Masser was able to get out of the jam and leave two Cougars on the base path.
In the fourth, BYU scored its third and fourth runs on a two-run home run by shortstop Jodi Norton, scoring Watson who led off the inning with a single down the left field line.
Masser pitched her team-leading eighth complete game of the season and struck out nine batters, picking up the loss. Her record now stands at 10-4 on the season.
In game two, the Rams scored in the top of the first inning as Kerry Farrell singled in Roberts, who led of the game with a single to shortstop. The run would prove to be the only one of the game for either team. Roberts, Walker, Farrell, Strickland and Dean each finished the game 1-for-3 from the plate accounting for all five of the Rams? hits.
Kelly (10-2) picked up the win, allowing only three hits and striking out one batter in 4.1 innings, while combining with Strickland who pitched the final 2.1 innings to record her team-leading sixth save of the season. Strickland is now only one save away from tying Masser?s record for saves in a season set last year. Kelly became the third Rams? pitcher to reach 10 wins on the season along with Masser (10-4) and Strickland (10-4).
Next up, the Rams will close out conference play as well as the regular season with a four game series against New Mexico at Ram Field. The Rams and Lobos will play two doubleheaders scheduled for April 8 at 12:00 pm and April 9 at 1:00 pm, after having their first games of the season in Albuquerque rained out.
