Colorado State University Athletics
Softball Preview: Creighton and Nebraska
3/26/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 26, 2007
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Colorado State (20-14) will travel to Omaha, Neb. for a twin bill against the Creighton Bluejays on Tuesday, March 27 at the Creighton Sports Complex beginning at 2 p.m. MT. Colorado State concludes the road trip against the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Wednesday March 28. Game one of the doubleheader is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. MT from Bowlin Stadium.
The Rams vs....
Creighton: Colorado State holds a slim, 18-17 advantage in the all-time series against the Creighton Bluejays. In Mary Yori's seven-year tenure as head coach, the Rams have not faced Creighton.
Nebraska: The Rams have an all-time series record of 4-12 against the Cornhuskers. The last time these two teams met was a double header at Ram Field on March 26, 2001 when the Rams lost both games 4-1 and 14-0.
Rams Top UNC...
Colorado State took the first game of a double header 6-2 last Friday against in-state rival Northern Colorado. The weather only allowed the game to last five innings before thunderstorms forced the teams to cancel game two. Colorado State first baseman Julia Kloppe led the Rams to victory with grand slam home run in the sixth inning.
Spring Fever...
After posting a record of 7-9 in the month of February, Colorado State is beginning to heat up in the month of March, jumping out to a 14-5 record heading into Tuesday's matchup at Creighton. Over the last five seasons (2003-07), Colorado State has posted an impressive 56-20 (.737) record in the month of March.
Picking up the Pace...
After posting a record of 4-9 to begin the season, Colorado State has come to life, winning 17 of its last 22 contests, including seven shutout victories. Over that stretch, the Rams are outscoring opponents by a 2-to-1 margin, 112-56.
Power Surge...
Colorado State continued to add to its Mountain West Conference-leading home run total. The Rams enter this week's match-up with Creighton with 41 round-trippers through 35 games. Colorado State's 41 home runs already ranks third on the team single-season charts, behind the 2004 team which hit 58 home runs and last season's team which knocked 53 long balls.
They Call Her Big Hurt For a Reason...
Senior Brittany Huerta now has 30 home runs on the season, just two home runs shy of tying former NFCA 1st Team All-American Sara Fredstrom for the school record.
Making The Most...
Six Rams boast batting averages of .300 or better with runners on base. Junior Lauren Cusick (.350) leads the Rams followed closely by senior Brittany Huerta (.347). Sophomore Kim Klabough ranks third with a batting average of .333. Senior Jessica Strickland and freshman Robyn Mask are both batting .317 with runners on base and freshman Allison Majam rounds out the top six with a batting average of .304 with runners on. Four of those players - Strickland (.395), Cusick (.381), Huerta (.375) and Mask (.346) - along with sophomore Shannon Causgrove (.300) are also hitting above .300 with runner's in scoring position on the season.
Strick-tly Business...
Jessica Strickland has left an indelible mark in the Rams record book. The senior from Lakewood, Colo. already ranks in the top-five on Colorado State's career records in 13 different categories including first in doubles (60) and saves (11). The table on the right is a breakdown of where Strickland ranks on the career top-five charts at Colorado State.
Outscoring the Opposition...
Colorado State has outscored its opponents 161-131 so far this season. The majority of the Rams' damage has been done in the sixth inning where CSU has scored 37 runs. Opponents have scored nearly a quarter of their runs (28) in the first inning against the Rams. However, CSU has battled back, posting a record of 4-5 when trailing after the first inning this season.
Neutral-Field Advantage?...
With no more neutral-site contests on the Rams' regular-season schedule, Colorado State has posted a record of 17-10 (.630) in games played on neutral fields.
Multiplicity...
Junior Lauren Cusick and senior Jessica Strickland top the charts for most multiple-hit games this season with 12 and 10, respectively, for the Rams. Senior Brittany Huerta (9) leads the team in multiple-RBI games, followed by Strickland (8).
Setting the Table...
This season, Colorado State's leadoff hitters in each inning have safely reached base 45.2 percent of the time, while the Rams have held opponents' leadoff hitters to reach just 36.1 percent of the time.
Closing in on 500...
Senior pitcher Jessica Strickland is just four innings shy of becoming just the third pitcher in Colorado State University softball history to record 500 innings in the circle. Strickland enters Tuesday's game against Creighton third on that list with 496.0 innings pitched in her career.
Off and Running...
Colorado State's offense so far this season has hit a conference leading 56 doubles. Strickland leads the team with 12 so far and not far behind her is Allison Majam with nine and Lauren Cusick with seven.
Rally Starter...
Junior Lauren Cusick is hitting an impressive .542 (13-for-24) when stepping up to the plate with two outs in an inning this season. Cusick, who ranks second on the team in batting average (.354) is tied with Huerta for the team lead with 26 runs scored on the season. Cusick also ranks second in the Mountain West with three triples on the season and is posting an impressive on-base percentage of .422.
Pitching Machine...
In 86.2 innings pitched, sophomore Kim Klabough is fifth in the Mountain West with an ERA of 1.94. She also is keeping her opponents to a .245 batting average. Klabough leads the Mountain West with least walks allowed with eight, followed closely by teammates Rebecca Penland (10) and Cayte Billman (13).
Three Up, Three Down...
Colorado State's defense has an notable .963 fielding percentage this season with 698 putouts. The team also ranks third in the Mountain West for fielding double plays with eight.
Homecoming...
This week's road trip to Nebraska will be a homecoming for head coach Mary Yori. Yori played for Creighton from 1980-1982 where she earned All-American honors her junior year after leading the Bluejays in several categories including hitting (.354 average), hits (67), runs (50), and RBI (36). Her 50 runs scored her junior year, along with 13 triples that same season are still Bluejay single-season records. Yori was inducted into the Creighton University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1992.
