Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
New Mexico
Home Runs Lift Rams Past Lobos.
5/12/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 12, 2007
Despite key injuries that included two-time All-Mountain West Conference third baseman Lauren Cusick, the Colorado State softball team (30-28, 9-10 MWC) took the final two games of the regular season on Saturday afternoon from the New Mexico Lobos in Albuquerque, N.M. The Rams picked up a 6-5 victory in eight innings in game one, followed by an 11-0 win in five innings in game two. With the wins, the Rams moved ahead of the Lobos in the final standings to capture third place in the Mountain West Conference.
"I'm really proud of the heart and courage that out team showed this weekend," said head coach, Mary Yori. "We really battled, winning three-out-of-four games away from home to close out the regular-season on a high note."
In game one, the Rams and Lobos battled to a 1-1 tie through five innings. After New Mexico got on the board in the bottom of the second inning, freshman Ashley Munoz hit a two-out, solo home run, her 13th of the season, to center field to tie the game in the top of the third.
Colorado State then jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the top of the sixth inning. Junior Julia Kloppe homered with Munoz on base and one out, and senior Brittany Huerta homered with two out in the inning to put the Rams ahead by three runs. Huerta's home run marked the 33rd of her career at Colorado State, surpassing Sara Fredstrom as the school's career home run leader.
The Lobos answered with three runs of their own in the bottom of the sixth, but the Rams regained the lead when freshman Allison Majam doubled in freshman Melissa Routh in the top of the seventh. The Lobos matched the Rams again in the bottom half of the inning. Freshman Adriana Lira, then homered in the top of the eighth, her first long ball of the season to give the Rams the 6-5 lead. Lira became the 14th player on the Rams' roster this season to hit a home run.
The Lobos threatened to answer again in the bottom of the eighth. After a leadoff walk, freshman Sara Loeffelholz stole second as a pinch runner, then, after back-to-back strikeouts, UNM's Ryanne Hodgins singled down the left field line. Loeffelholz attempted to score from second, but was thrown out at the plate by CSU's Munoz from left field to end the game.
Senior pitcher Jessica Strickland (9-10) picked up the win for the Rams, allowing one run on one hit and striking out two in two innings of relief. Cayte Billman started for the Rams, allowing for runs on seven hits and striking out two in five innings of work and freshman Rebecca Penland pitched one inning of middle-relief, shutting down the UNM offense.
Junior Kim Klabough, the only pitcher on the Rams' staff not to appear in game one, threw a complete-game shutout to lead the Rams to victory in game two, with the help of 11 runs from the offense in just five innings. Klabough improved to 11-10 on the season with the win. She allowed just four hits in the 11-0 victory and struck out five batters in five innings.
The Rams added to their four game-one homers with two more in game two. Stickland homered to lead off the game for the Rams, and Colorado State quickly found themselves ahead 3-0 through three innings. Majam and Munoz recorded back-to-back doubles in the top of the third. Munoz's double plated Majam and senior Stacey Leigh followed with an RBI single to score Munoz.
Leigh then drove in two more for the Rams in the fourth inning with a two-out double to right center to score Majam and Strickland. Munoz scored on a wild pitch to the next batter to give the Rams a 6-0 advantage.
Colorado State closed out the game with five runs in the fifth inning. With two outs, Strickland doubled to right center to score Routh and Lira. Majam followed with a single up the middle to score Strickland from second. Munoz capped the scoring for the Rams, hitting a two-run home run to left field. The home run was Munoz's 14th of the season, tying Huerta's single-season record, which she also set as a freshman in 2004.
Strickland was 2-for-4 with three runs and three RBI in game two. Majam was 3-for-4 in each game. She also posted three runs and one RBI in game two. Munoz was 2-for-3 in both contests, recording a home run in each, and combining for five runs scored and four RBI on the day.
Cusick, who left game two of last night's double header after being slid into on a play at third base, was held out of today's contests. Huerta stepped in to play third base for the Rams in today's games, and Lira filled the void left by Huerta in the outfield.
"We really came together as a team and fought hard to close out the regular-season," added Yori. "I'm extremely proud of this team's effort as we battled some late-season injuries. The really stuck together and gutted it out."
The Rams will now await word of a possible at-large bid into the NCAA Regional Tournament. Selections will be made Sunday afternoon on ESPNews between 1 p.m. MT and 2 p.m. With no conference tournament this season, BYU earns an automatic bid after capturing the MWC Championship with a 16-4 record in conference play. UNLV finished second with a 12-8 mark in conference.
