Colorado State University Athletics
Softball Preview - Utah State, BYU and Utah
4/13/2005 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Leading Off: Colorado State (25-13, 4-2 MWC) will be on the road this weekend, playing five games in three days. The trip begins with one game against the Utah State Aggies (10-23) in Logan, Utah at 2 p.m. MT on Thursday. The Rams will then continue conference action against the BYU Cougars. The Cougars sit atop the MWC with a record of 25-9 and are just one game ahead of the Rams at 5-1 in conference play. The Rams and Cougars are set to begin game one of the doubleheader at 5 p.m. MT in Provo, Utah. The Rams will then travel to Salt Lake City, Utah for another conference twin bill against the University of Utah Utes. The Utes (12-19, 1-5 MWC) are currently fifth in the league, three games behind CSU. The first pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m. MT.
Wrapping-up New Mexico: The Rams rebounded from two conference losses to UNLV and took two games from the New Mexico Lobos, improving to 4-2 in Mountain West play. The Rams needed extra innings to defeat the Lobos in game one of the doubleheader, as senior C Kerry Farrell came through with a 3-for-5 performance from the plate and both the tying and winning RBIs in the game as Colorado State edged out New Mexico 5-4 in nine innings. Jessica Strickland improved to 10-6 on the season, striking out seven Lobo batters in nine innings of work. In game two, the Rams staked to an early lead on a three-run home run by Strickland in the first inning and never looked back. Farrell added an insurance run on an RBI double by sophomore OF Brittany Huerta, as the Rams rolled to a 4-1 win. Junior P Genevieve Kelly picked up her 11th win of the season, pitching six innings of shutout softball and carrying a no-hitter into the fifth inning.
The Rams vs. Utah State, BYU and Utah: The Rams outscored Utah State 29-4 in a three- game sweep of the Aggies in 2004 and hold a record of 13-21 all-time. The Rams hold an all-time series advantage over BYU of 12-9 and took three out of four games from the Cougars last season. The Rams swept BYU at Ram Field and split in Provo, losing a 3-4 game one decision but bouncing back to record a 1-0 win in game two. Colorado State swept the regular season from Utah in 2004, posting 6-2 and 7-5 victories in Salt Lake City. However, Utah got the best of Colorado State in the conference tournament, upsetting the No. 1-seeded Rams by a final of 2-1. All time, the Rams are 30-46 against the Utes.
Defensively Dependent: Colorado State leads the pack in the Mountain West Conference with a fielding percentage of .970 on the season. The Rams have not committed an error in 19 of the team?s 38 games this season, and have compiled a record of 16-3 in those games. Conversely, the Rams are 9-10 in games when the team commits an error and 2-4 when committing more than one error in a game.
Moving Up The Ladder: Junior P Genevieve Kelly needs only five strikeouts to move into fifth place on the Colorado State chart for career strikeouts. Kelly currently ranks sixth behind Kyla Kiester (201), and at her current pace of 6.8 strikeouts per seven innings, Kelly could possibly move into third place on the charts this season, ahead of Erin Bennett, who struck out 218 batters from 1996 through 1998.
Three?s A Crowd: With the Rams? game one win over New Mexico on Saturday, Colorado State preserved a streak in which the team has not lost three games in a row since Feb. 9, 2003 when the team fell to Nevada, Sacramento State and UC Santa Barbara at the Mustang Round-Up Tournament, a streak of 127 games. During that stretch, the Rams have lost two games in a row only eight times, including three times in 2003, once in 2004 and four times this season.
Sacrificing For The Good Of The Team: Junior OF Jennifer Gardner ranks first in the Mountain West Conference in total sacrifice bunts and sacrifice bunts in conference games with eight and three, respectively. With eight sacrifices on the season, she is only two shy of tying her career high set in 2004.
Rams? Seniors vs. Utah: For their careers, seniors Brittany Burtner, Kerry Farrell and Stephanie Roberts are all hitting above .360 against Utah. Farrell leads the way with a .419 (18-for-43) career batting average against the Utes, including last seasons? .600 (9-for-15) output. Farrell also recorded a career-high 10 total bases in a single game against Utah in 2004 and slugged at a 1.333 clip against them last season. Roberts ranks second hitting .370 (17-for-46), while Burtner is hitting .361 (13-for-36) in her career against the Utes.
Huerta On A Roll: Sophomore OF Brittany Huerta, who broke the school record with 14 home runs as a freshman in 2004, began the season in a bit of a slump, hitting at a .125 clip (2-for-16) through her first seven games of the season. However, Huerta is back on track, and is hitting .435 (20-for-36) in her last 16 games, including a team-high 13-game hitting streak. She has recorded a hit in 15 games over that stretch. For the season, Huerta now ranks second on the team behind fellow-sophomore Jessica Strickland (.397) with a batting average of .371.
Triple Crown: Sophomore Jessica Strickland currently leads the Rams in batting average (.397) and RBI (32) and is tied for the team lead in home runs (4). Strickland also leads the Colorado State pitching staff in ERA (1.88) and innings pitched (111.2). In addition, Strickland currently ranks first on the team with a 1.000 fielding percentage in 85 chances. She is currently on pace to become the only Colorado State player to lead the team in both batting average and ERA.
Double-Double: Colorado State pitchers Genevieve Kelly and Jessica Strickland have both eclipsed double digits in wins for the second straight season. Kelly?s 11th win of the season in game two against New Mexico tied her career high set in 2004 (11-2), while Strickland needs just one more win to reach 11 and tie her career best, also set last season (11-4).