Colorado State University Athletics
Softball Preview - The Mountain West Tournament
5/11/2005 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Leading Off: Colorado State (29-20, 8-8 MWC) begins play at the Mountain West Conference Tournament on May 12 in San Diego, Calif. The Rams earned a No. 3 seed entering the tournament and will take on the No.6-seeded host San Diego State in the team?s first round matchup slated to begin at 2 p.m PT. The two teams split the regular season matchups, each sweeping at home. The winner will then face No. 2 seeded UNLV that same day at 7 p.m. PT, while the losing team will await the loser of the game between No. 1seeded BYU and the winner of No. 4 Utah and No. 5 New Mexico on Friday at 2 p.m. PT.
Wrapping-up UNLV and San Diego State: The Rams suffered four straight losses to close out the regular season on the road last weekend. The Rams fell to UNLV 8-0 and 3-1 on Friday in Las Vegas, Nev. before losing to San Diego State 1-0 and 7-5 on Sunday in San Diego, Calif.
Flashback - 2003 Conference Tournament: In the 2003 Mountain West Conference Tournament, also held in San Diego, Calif., the Rams defeated BYU, UNLV and San Diego State en route the first MWC Tournament Championship in the program?s histroy, as well as the first NCAA Regional appearance since the 1997 season.
Tourney Time: All-time in the Mountain West Conference Tournament, the Rams have posted a record of 7-7. In 2003 the Rams won the MWC Tournament title, beating BYU, UNLV and San Diego State in San Deigo, Calif. However, in 2004 the tournament hosted by the Rams was shortened to a single-elimination tournament due to weather, and the Rams fell to the eventual champion Utah in the first round. This year, the Rams are slated to begin the tournament against San Deigo State, and have posted a record of 2-0 all-time in MWC Tournament play against the Aztecs. The following is a list of the Rams? records against each team in the Mountain West Tournament:
Opponent BYU UNM SDSU UNLV Utah Total Rams? Record 2-0 1-2 2-0 1-1 1-4 7-7
30 Wins: The Rams need just one more win to record three-straight 30 win seasons, for just the second time in school history. The Rams also won 30+ games in each season from 1996 to 1998.
Walk This Way: Senior 2B Stephanie Roberts broke her own single-season record at Colorado State University, earning her 27th walk of the season against San Deigo State last weekend. Roberts, who originally set the record in 2004 also ranks first on the career charts with 85 career walks. Her 85 career walks ties for fifth mos in MWC history.
Stopping The Skid: The Rams will look to snap a four-game losing streak in the first game of the Mountain West Conference Tournament against San Diego State on Thursday afternoon. The four-game losing streak is the longest by the Rams in three seasons, having lost 11-straight games heading into the conference tournament in 2002, but finishing with a surprising third palce finish as the No. 6 seed in that tournament.
Yori?s Wins: Colorado State Head Coach Mary Yori has reached 135 wins in her five years at the helm in Fort Collins, which ranks second all-time to Candi Letts who led the Rams to 160 victories from 1994-1998.
Rewriting The Record Book: Through the regular season and heading into play at the MWC Tournament, this season?s squad ranks in the Colorado State record books in ten of 18 categories. This season?s team ranks second in doubles (77) and slugging percentage (.430); third in batting average (.307), runs (218), RBI (200) and fielding percentage (.968); and fifth in hits (406), home runs (21), strikeouts (219) and winning percentage (.591). With one more triple, the 2005 Rams will also rank in the top-five in that category as well.
Nationally Ranked Rams: As a team, Colorado State softball ranks nationally in two categories. The Rams rank ninth in the nation, averaging 1.57 doubles per game, led by sophomore Jessica Strickland, who ranks second nationally in that category (0.4). The Rams also rank 18th with a .307 batting average.
Reaching the Century Mark: Junior Jennifer Gardner and sophomores Brittany Huerta and Jessica Strickland each reached 100 career hits last weekend against San Diego State. Gardner now has 104 career hits, while Strickland and Huerta have 102 and 100, respectively.
All Conference Honors: Five Rams were named to the All-Mountain West Conference Team for the 2005 season, second only to six by regular-season champion BYU and tied with No. 2-seeded UNLV. Senior Stephanie Roberts earned her third straight nod on the team, leading the conference in walks. Sophomore P Jessica Strickland earns the honor for the second-straight season, as she led the Rams in both batting average and ERA through the regular season. Fellow sophomore Brittany Huerta received her first All-Conference honors, posting a .346 batting average in 2005 after breaking the single-season home run record with 14 as a freshman in 2004. Freshmen Lauren Cusick and Julia Kloppe round out the Rams? selections. Cusick, who has started every game at third base for the Rams this season, leads the Rams with a .359 batting average in conference play. Kloppe is a Fort Collins native (Rocky Mountain HS) and posted a .324 batting average and .990 fielding percentage at first base for the Rams in conference play.