Colorado State University Athletics
SOFTBALL PREVIEW: Cathedral City Kickoff
2/7/2008 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 7, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Cathedral City Kickoff
Game 1: Colorado State (0-0, 0-0) vs. Oregon (0-0, 0-0)
Feb. 8, 2008 | Palm Springs, Calif. | 11 a.m. MT
Game 2: Colorado State (0-0, 0-0) vs. Portland State (0-0, 0-0)
Feb. 8, 2008 | Palm Springs, Calif. | 7 p.m. MT
Game 3: Colorado State (0-0, 0-0) vs. UC Davis (0-0, 0-0)
Feb. 9, 2008 | Palm Springs, Calif. | 4 p.m. MT
Game 4: Colorado State (0-0, 0-0) vs. Winthrop (0-0, 0-0)
Feb. 9, 2008 | Palm Springs, Calif. | 6:30 p.m. MT
Game 5: Colorado State (0-0, 0-0) vs. UC Riverside (0-0, 0-0)
Feb. 10, 2008 | Palm Springs, Calif. | 1 p.m. MT
Cathedral City Kickoff...
Colorado State begins the 2008 season in Palm Springs, Calif., for the Cathedral City Kickoff. The Rams will face No. 20 Oregon to open the tournament on Friday at 11 a.m. MT and Portland State in the second game of the day at 7 p.m. MT. The Rams play back-to-back on Saturday with the first game at 4 p.m. against UC Davis and the second game against Winthrop at 6:30 p.m. The tournament concludes on Sunday with Colorado State facing UC Riverside at 1 p.m.
Oregon...
The Ducks ended the 2007 season 44-19 and earned the No. 22 spot in the final USA Today/NFCA Top 25 poll. Oregon welcomes back seven starters from last season, including junior outfielder Sari-Jane Jenkins who hit .396 last season with 16 doubles and 27 RBIs. Colorado State is 2-7 in the all-time series with the Ducks.
Portland State...
The Portland State Vikings finished the 2007 season 23-34 after winning the Pacific Coast Softball Conference (PCSC) title in 2006. The Vikings return five starters from the 2007 squad with Mandy Hill as the ace in the circle. Hill went 20-19 with a 2.27 ERA in 49 appearances, including 35 starts. Hill also batted .273 with 11 home runs and 40 RBIs and finished her junior season as Portland State's career leader in both categories. The Rams and Vikings have split two previous matchups.
UC Davis...
Senior pitcher Jessica Hancock will lead the Aggies in the circle again after posting an impressive junior season. Hancock was 16-12 in the 2007 season with a 1.98 ERA. She also struck out 203 batters while only giving up six home runs. UC Davis finished the season 31-27-1, beating Colorado State 7-3 in their meeting on Feb. 18, in Las Vegas, Nev. Overall, the Rams are 0-2 against the Aggies.
Winthrop...
Winthrop returns six starters this season after posting a 50-win season in 2007. Junior Lisa Kingsmore started all 68 games last season and hit .401 with 43 runs, 89 hits, 12 doubles and 34 RBIs. In her freshman season, Megan Evans was 25-7 and posted an ERA of 2.24 with 170 strikeouts. This will mark the first time that the Rams and Eagles have met on the diamond.
UC Riverside...
The UC Riverside Highlanders return seven players from a lineup that set a school-record for home runs last season with 28. Sophomore Marissa Alvidrez leads the way after team highs in batting average (.338), doubles (10) and RBI (34). Junior Big West second team all-conference selection Tricia Adgar also returns. Colorado State won the only previous matchup with the Highlanders.
Ram Returners...
The Rams return six starters from the 2007 squad, including seniors and four-year starters Lauren Cusick and Julia Kloppe, and 2007 MWC Freshman of the Year Ashley Munoz. Cusick hit .343 last season with 12 doubles, six home runs and 18 RBI. Kloppe hit .248 last season with eight home runs and 24 RBI. Munoz earned MWC Freshman of the Year honors with her .316 batting average and 14 home runs. As a team last the Rams set a school record, recording 78 home runs.
Freshman Fury...
Colorado State has four freshmen on the 2008 roster. Ivory Allen, Caitlan Stem and LaLonnie Villa-Martinez are all from Colorado while Eranne Daugharthy hails from Kansas. Allen is an outfielder from Thomas Jefferson High School in Denver, Colo., Stem is an infielder from Broomfield High School in Broomfield, Colo., and Villa-Martinez is an outfielder from Mullen High School in Denver, Colo. Daugharthy is a pitcher from Olathe East High School in Ottawa, Kan.
All MWC...
Three of the Rams' four all-MWC selections from last season return to the field in 2007. Senior Lauren Cusick, and freshmen Allison Majam and Ashley Munoz will play a vital role for the Rams this season. 2006 senior Jessica Strickland is the Rams' lone all-conference player not returning in 2007.
In the Circle...
Junior ace Kim Klabough along with senior Cayte Billman, sophomore Rebecca Penland and freshman Eranne Daugharthy will share time in the circle this season for the Rams. Klabough returns for her junior season after finishing 2007 with a 2.54 ERA in 149 innings. Klabough also recorded 97 strikeouts while only walking 22 batters. Billman returns for her senior season after giving up only four home runs in the 2007 season. Sophomore Rebecca Penland ended her freshman season with 80.2 innings pitched and 77 strikeouts.
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 enters the 2008 season just eight wins away from 200 career wins at Colorado State. 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 192-175, 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.
Key Losses...
All three seniors from the 2007 season were key players for the Rams. Jessica Strickland, Brittany Huerta and Stacey Leigh all conrtibuted to the 30-win season. Strickland pitched 114 innings in her senior season, and recorded a 3.99 ERA with 74 strikeouts. Huerta started in 56 of the 58 games and recorded a .266 batting average with 12 home runs and 33 RBI. Leigh started in 23 games as a senior and finished her career at Colorado State with the third-highest batting average on the team (.317). She also hit five doubles and had 19 RBI.
Preseason Poll...
The Mountain West Conference released its preseason poll, placing Colorado State in a tie for fourth place with New Mexico. The 2007 regular-season champion, BYU, earned the top spot with five first-place votes, followed by San Diego State with one first-place vote. UNLV sits in the third spot with Utah following Colorado State and New Mexico for sixth place. MWC play begins on April 3, when the Rams will travel to Salt Lake City, Utah, to take on the Utes.
