Colorado State University Athletics
Softball Preview - at New Mexico
4/22/2005 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Leading Off: Colorado State (27-16, 6-4 MWC) will close out the teams? seven-game road swing, including six conference matchups, with a conference-doubleheader against the New Mexico Lobos (13-24, 3-7 MWC) in Albuquerque, NM on Saturday, April 23, 2005. The Rams currently hold the third spot in the Mountain West Conference rankings, three games ahead of the Lobos -- who are tied with Utah for the fourth spot -- and three games behind top-ranked BYU.
Wrapping-up Utah State, BYU and Utah: The Rams posted a record of 2-3 (2-2 MWC) during last weekend?s road trip to Utah. Colorado State began the weekend with one game against Utah State in Logan, Utah. The Rams fell to the Aggies 2-1, on a walk-off home run by Utah State. The Rams out hit the Aggies 12-4, but stranded 13 base runners in the game. Colorado State then travelled to Provo, Utah to take on conference-leading BYU. The Rams took an early lead in game one, but fell behind by two heading into the final frame, where the Rams came up short and lost the decision 6-5. In game two, another final-inning rally by the Rams fell short and the Rams fell to the Cougars 4-3. The Rams halted their three-game skid against Utah to wrap up the weekend?s action. In game one, the Rams fell behind 4-0, but scored in each of the last four innings to win 10-4. However, the Rams needed extra innings to put the Utes away in game two. The two teams battled to a 1-1 tie into the ninth inning, before the Rams posted four runs, and held the Utes to one run in the bottom half of the ninth inning to claim a 5-2 victory.
The Rams vs. New Mexico: New Mexico holds a 40-31 advantage all-time against Colorado State. However, the Rams swept the Lobos in conference play in 2004 and have beaten the Lobos three times this season, twice in conference play and once at the Troy Cox Classic. Under head coach Mary Yori, the Rams have posted a record of 15-4 against the Lobos, including 12 straight wins.
National Leader: Sophomore Jessica Strickland tied the Colorado State single season record for doubles with her 19th of the year last weekend. She also leads the nation, averaging 0.45 doubles per contest.
By The Narrowest Of Margins: Ten of the Rams 16 losses this season have been by a margin of two runs or less, and seven of those losses have been by only one run, including all three losses last weekend to Utah State and BYU.
Nationally Ranked Rams: As a team, Colorado State softball ranks nationally in three categories. The Rams rank fifth in the nation, averaging 1.7 doubles per game, led by sophomore Jessica Strickland, who leads the nation in that category. The Rams also rank 12th with a .316 batting average, and rank 29th with a fielding percentage of 0.971. The Rams lead the Mountain West Conference in both batting average and fielding percentage.
Defensive Prowess: Colorado State leads the pack in the Mountain West Conference with a fielding percentage of .971 on the season. The Rams have not committed an error in 21 of the team?s 43 games this season, and have compiled a record of 17-4 in those games. Conversely, the Rams are 10-12 in games when the team commits an error and 3-4 when committing more than one error in a game.
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 11 and four, respectively. With 11 sacrifice bunts on the season, Gardner set a new personal best, surpassing the 10 sacrifices she had last season.
Leaving Her Mark: Senior Stephanie Roberts ranks in the top-five on the Colorado State charts in eight of 13 categories. Roberts holds the record for career walks (83), ranks second in runs (150), third in home runs (24) and games started (199) and fourth in games played (199), doubles (36) and stolen bases (33). With at least 12 games remaining in the season, Roberts needs only five hits and two triples to rank in each of those categories as well.
Cusick Cruising: Sophomore Lauren Cusick led the Rams last weekend hitting .529 (9-for-17). Cusick led the team with a slugging percentage of .941, 16 total bases, six RBI, four doubles and one home run. She also drew two walks and recorded a team-leading on-base percentage of .550. Cusick now leads the Rams in batting average (.500), slugging percentage (.850), on-base percentage (.500), doubles (4) and sacrifice flies (2) in conference play, while ranking second in conference play with seven RBI. Her performance over the weekend, raised her season batting average by nearly 50 points from .244 to .293.
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, hitting .431 (28-for-65) in her last 21 games, including a team-high 13-game hitting streak. Huerta has recorded a hit in 20 of those 21 games, and recorded multiple hits in seven games. For the season, she now ranks second on the team behind fellow-sophomore Jessica Strickland (.391) with a batting average of .380.
248 And Counting: Colorado State Head Coach Mary Yori will lead the team in her 250th career game at Colorado State this weekend at New Mexico. Yori has compiled a record of 133-115 (.539) since arriving in Fort Collins in 2000.
Rams? Signings: The Colorado State softball team has signed six student-athletes to national letters of intent for the 2005-2006 season. The following is a list of the newest CSU Rams:
Name Pos. Hometown (Last School) Shannon Causgrove C/OF Laguna Niguel, Calif. (Santa Margarita Catholic) Anjelica Espinoza SS Chandler, Ariz. (Dobson) Kim Klabough P Sierra Vista, Ariz. (Buena) Renee Welty UT Gilbert, Ariz. (Mesquite) Ashtin Williamson OF Loveland, Colo. (HS) Jenna Wisely 2B Fort Collins, Colo. (HS)