SOFTBALL PREVIEW: Hotel Encanto de Las Cruces Classic

Feb. 13, 2008

Hotel Encanto de Las Cruces Classic...
Colorado State continues the 2008 season in Las Cruces, N.M., for the Hotel Encanto de Las Cruces Classic. After posting an impressive first weekend in Palm Springs, Calif., for the Cathedral City Kickoff, the Rams look to build on their first four wins. First pitch is set for Friday, at 9 a.m. MT when Colorado State takes on Texas-

Arlington. Texas-Arlington...
The Mavericks enter this weekend with a 1-4 record in 2008. Two of the team's four losses came against ranked opponents last weekend, No. 15 Virginia Tech and No. 21 Missouri, respectively. The top hitter for the Mavericks last weekend was senior Katie Jones who posted a .471 batting average with a double and two RBI. Senior Laura Jones leads the Mavericks in the circle with an ERA of 0.41 in 17 innings. She also recorded 12 strikeouts in those 17 innings. The Rams lead the all-time series against the Mavericks, 5-2.

Texas-San Antonio...
The Roadrunners finished last weekend 1-2 after a three-game series with No. 22 Texas. Freshman Danye Holmes hit .625 with a double and two RBI. She also led the Roadrunners in the circle with a 1.83 ERA on the weekend with eight strikeouts. Texas-San Antonio leads the Rams in the all-time series, 5-3.

New Mexico State...
The Aggies enter this weekend 1-4 after losing two of their four games to ranked opponents, No. 2 Texas A&M and No. 18 Oregon State, respectively. New Mexico State's win came against Cal, beating the Bears 3-2. Stephanie Herrera hit .438 with seven hits and an RBI. Samantha Dillard did not give up an earned run last weekend in the 8.2 innings she pitched. New Mexico holds a slight advantage all-time against Colorado State, beating the Rams 23 times and losing 21.

Illinois-Chicago...
The Flames are 2-2 coming into this weekend's tournament in Las Cruces. Illinois-Chicago has eight players batting at or above .300 with freshman Brittany Wilson batting .667. Junior Sarah Clynes recorded a 4.86 ERA last weekend in 16.2 innings pitched with eight strikeouts. The Rams and Flames have met once previously with the Rams winning that contest.

North Dakota State...
North Dakota State finished last weekend 4-1 after hosting the Miken Dome Tournament in Fargo, N.D. The Rams and Bison each have a win in the all-time series.

Season Openers...
The Rams are now 2-6 in season openers under Head Coach Mary Yori. Las season, the Rams lost to New Mexico State, 3-2. CSU opened 2006 with a 4-0 loss to the Aggies. The Rams beat Cal Poly 1-0 in San Luis Obispo, Calif., on Feb. 5, 2004, but lost 3-2 against the Mustangs on Feb. 6, 2003. Southern Utah University handed the Rams a 1-0 loss on Feb 8, 2002. The Rams posted losses in both of their first two seasons under Coach Yori, falling 14-1 to Cal State Fullerton on Feb. 2, 2001, and 6-4 against Tulsa University on Feb. 4, 2000.

Third Time's a Charm...
Colorado State beat No. 20 Oregon, 3-2, last weekend to make it three ranked opponents in three years. In 2006, the Rams beat No. 18 Oregon, 6-1, and last season, the Rams beat No. 11 Cal, 2-0. Sophomore Ashley Munoz sent one deep in the bottom of the sixth inning with Allison Majam on first to give the Rams the 3-2 lead.

The .300 Club...
Five Ram hitters batted above .300 this past weekend at the Cathedral City Kickoff in Palm Springs, Calif. Senior Julia Kloppe hit .500 on the weekend with two doubles, a home run, and five RBI. Sophomore Ashley Munoz hit .412 with a home run and three RBI. Sophomore Robyn Mask followed Munoz with a .400 batting average with a home run as well and five RBI. Senior Cayte Billman and sophomore Kayla Kreutzman round out the top five with a .333 and .308 batting average, respectively.

Super Sophomores...
Colorado State's sophomores helped the team win four out of five last weekend with a combined .333 batting average with 11 RBI and two home runs.

Perfect Duo...
Senior Cayte Billman and junior Kim Klabough are both 2-0 after this past weekend. Billman posted a 1.29 ERA in 16.1 innings pitched. She surrendered only four runs in those innings while striking out 13 batters. Klabough recorded a 2.80 ERA in 15 innings pitched with 13 strikeouts as well.

Reaching a Milestone...
Head Coach Mary Yori, now entering her eighth season at the helm of the Colorado State softball program, has made the Rams a force to be reckoned with in the Mountain West Conference. Yori entered the 2008 season just eight wins away from 200 career wins at Colorado State. After last weekend, Yori is now only four wins away from 200 career wins and can reach that milestone this weekend in Las Cruces, N.M. Yori notched her name into the CSU record books, becoming only the second coach in Colorado State history to reach 100 wins. Her record at CSU now stands at 196-176, making her the winningest coach in CSU softball history. Yori also reached another career milestone in 2006, earning her 600th victory. Last season Yori led a Rams squad that featured regular contributions from 10 underclassmen to its fourth 30-win season in five years.

Come-From-Behind Magic...
In the final game of the Cathedral City Kickoff this past weekend, the Rams found themselves behind UC Riverside, 5-2, with two innings left to play. In the sixth, senior Julia Kloppe hit a double to score sophomores Allison Majam and Ashley Munoz to put the Rams down one run. The Rams tied the game at five in the bottom of the seventh when Kloppe singled to score Munoz. The Highlanders added a run in the top of the eighth to give them the 6-5 lead, but in the bottom half of the inning, sophomore Robyn Mask doubled to right field to score sophomore Sarah Sullivan from second. With two outs and Mask on third, senior Lauren Cusick launched a double down the left field line to score Mask and win the game. In that game, Kloppe recorded three hits and four RBI.

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