Colorado State University Athletics
Softball Preview: New Mexico
4/5/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 5, 2007
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Game 40 Colorado State vs. New Mexico
Saturday, April 7, 2007 • Fort Collins, Colo. 1 p.m. MT
Game 41 Colorado State vs. New Mexico
Sunday, April 8, 2007 • Fort Collins, Colo. 12 p.m. MT
Leading Off...
The Rams begin conference play this weekend against the New Mexico Lobos. Saturday's game against the Lobos begins at 1 p.m. and Sunday's game begins at 12 p.m. at Ram Field. This will mark only the third time the Rams have opened Mountain West Conference play at home.
The Rams vs. New Mexico...
The Lobos hold a 41-36 record against the Rams all-time. In the past four seasons, however, the Rams are 15-1 against the Lobos with the loss coming last year at New Mexico. The Lobos are 1-6 in Mountain West Conference openers dating back to 2000.
MWC Openers...
The Rams are 2-5 in Mountain West Conference openers dating back to 2000. The Rams are 1-1 in home openers, beating San Diego State, 2-0, in 2005 and losing to BYU, 2-6, in 2001.
Last Week...
Colorado State lost all four of its games last week on the road. They started the week at Creighton losing 8-0 and 3-0 and finished up the road trip at Nebraska losing two close games; 1-0 and 3-2. In the first loss to Nebraska, senior Jessica Strickland threw a complete game one-hitter, giving up a solo home run in the second inning.
Spring Fever...
After posting a record of 14-9 in the month of March, Colorado State hopes to keep it up in the month of April.
Power Surge...
Colorado State continued to add to its Mountain West Conference-leading home run total. The Rams enter this weekend's match-ups with New Mexico with 42 round-trippers through 39 games. Colorado State's 42 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 and saves.
Outscoring the Opposition...
Heading in to Mountain West Conference play, Colorado State has outscored its opponents 165-146. The majority of the Rams' damage has been done in the sixth inning where CSU has scored 38 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.
Multiplicity...
Junior Lauren Cusick and freshman Allison Majam are tied for second in the Mountain West for most multiple-hit games this season with 12. Senior Jessica Strickland is not far behind with 11 multiple-hit games on the season.
Setting the Table...
This season, Colorado State's leadoff hitters in each inning have safely reached base 42.3 percent (110-for-260) of the time, while the Rams have held opponents' leadoff hitters to reach just 36.5 percent (95-260) of the time.
Finally 500...
Senior pitcher Jessica Strickland became just the third pitcher in Colorado State University softball history to record 500 innings in the circle. Strickland reached 500 innings in the first inning of her complete game one-hitter against Nebraska last week.
Off and Running...
Colorado State's offense so far this season has hit a conference leading 59 doubles. Strickland leads the team with 12 so far and not far behind her is Allison Majam with nine and Lauren Cusick with eight. The Rams also have five triples on the season. Cusick leads the team with three and senior Brittany Huerta has the other two.
Rally Starter...
Junior Lauren Cusick is hitting an impressive .500 (14-for-28) when stepping up to the plate with two outs in an inning this season. Cusick, who ranks second on the team in batting average (.344) leads the team with 27 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 .411 while hitting in the lead-off spot in 37 of the team's 39 games this season.
Pitching Machine...
In 91.2 innings pitched, sophomore Kim Klabough is fifth in the Mountain West with an ERA of 2.06. She also is keeping her opponents to a .251 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 a notable .965 fielding percentage this season with 770 putouts. The team also ranks third in the Mountain West for fielding double plays with eight.
MWC last season...
Three returning players boasted a batting average of .300 or better last year during conference play. Senior Jessica Strickland hit .382 during conference play while juniors Lauren Cusick and Julia Kloppe hit .375 and .359, respectively.
Fresh Face...
Freshman Allison Majam leads the team in batting average with a .376 average thus far. She also has 38 hits, 10 doubles and three home runs. Majam is posting a .432 on base percentage and a fielding percentage of .932.
Schedule Change...
First pitch of the Rams' road game against the Utah Utes on April 20 has been changed. The game will now begin at 4 p.m. MT from Ute Field in Salt Lake City.
