Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
Utah
Ram Softball Hurt by Slow Start, Lightning Delay
5/3/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 3, 2007
The Colorado State softball team (26-26, 5-8 MWC) fell to the University of Utah Utes (23-22-1, 3-10 MWC), by a final of 3-2 in extra innings of game one of a Mountain West Conference double header on Thursday afternoon at Ram Field. Game two was halted in the first inning due to lightning in the area, and was eventually canceled because of the Utes' travel arrangements.
In game one Utah jumped out to an early lead, scoring one run in each of the first two innings on Rams' starting pitcher Kim Klabough. Freshman leftfielder Meghan Crouse led off the game with a triple for the Utes, and scored when the No. 2 batter, second baseman Kristie Keller singled to left field. Klabough settled in and forced the Utes into a foul-out and a double-play to end the inning. Utah's Staci Hemingway homered on a line drive to right center with one out in the second inning to push the Utah lead to 2-0.
Utah starting pitcher, Karina Cannon held the Rams' offense without a hit until the sixth inning, but Klabough settled and allowed just three Utah hits the remainder of the contest. CSU rallied to score two runs n the bottom of the seventh and send the game into extra innings.
Freshman Ashley Munoz homered to right center, her 10th of the season, to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning and senior Stacey Leigh singled to right field and advanced to second on a fielding error by the Utah's Kelly Matthews. Freshman Sarah Sullivan entered the game as a pinch runner for the Rams and advanced to third base on a passed ball. Sullivan scored to tie the game on a play at the plate, as junior Julia Kloppe reached on a fielder's choice and picked up the RBI. Cannon got out of the inning, striking out senior Brittany Huerta and inducing a pop up to the short stop from junior Lauren Cusick with runners on first and second.
In the eighth inning, Utah's Kara Foster homered to center field to lead off the inning and give the Utes a 3-2 lead. The Rams threatened in the bottom half after a lead-off walk by senior Jessica Strickland. The next batter, freshman Allison Majam, struck out and Munoz grounded into a fielder's choice to allow the Utes to cut down Strickland at second base. Leigh grounded out to third base to end the game.
Overall, the Rams recorded just three hits, one each from Munoz, Leigh and Kloppe. Munoz also recorded a run and an RBI. Kloppe added the second RBI for the Rams.
Klabough (10-10) picked up the loss for the Rams, allowing three runs on six hits in 8.0 innings of work and striking out four.
Game two was halted just more than 15 minutes into the contest because of lightning in the area and could not be completed before Utah had to leave because of travel arrangements for the remainder of this weekend's games at New Mexico.
The Rams continue action tomorrow against the conference-leading BYU Cougars at 3 p.m. Game two of that series will then be played at 12 p.m. on Saturday. Both games will be played at Ram Field. The Cougars enter Friday's contest with a record of 36-16 (12-2 MWC), having swept the New Mexico Lobos on Thursday afternoon in Albuquerque, 4-1 and 7-4.
