Colorado State University Athletics
SOFTBALL PREVIEW: Northern Colorado
3/27/2008 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 27, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Bank of Hawaii Invitational Recap...
Colorado State finished the Bank of Hawaii Invitational 3-3 last weekend, picking up a big win against No. 12/13 Northwestern, 9-3, and two wins against St. Mary's, 4-3, in eight innings and 6-1.
This Weekend...
The Rams head to Greeley on Saturday for a doubleheader against in-state rival Northern Colorado. First pitch is set for noon, followed by a 2 p.m. start for the second game. The Rams trail in the all-time series against the Bears, 33-15, however, the Rams are undefeated against the Bears under head coach Mary Yori, posting a 11-0 record.
Northern Colorado...
The Bears bring a 7-28 record into this weekend's matchup with Colorado State. In the month of March, Northern Colorado is 3-12. Jessica Schoepflin leads the Bears at the plate with a .333 batting average with two doubles and four triples in her 35 starts. Hillarie Van Otterloo leads UNC in the circle with 70.2 innings pitched. She holds a 4.26 ERA with 48 strikeouts.
Player of the Week...
Senior third baseman Lauren Cusick was named Mountain West Conference Softball Player of the Week on Tuesday. It is the third time in her career, and second time this season, that Cusick has been tabbed for the conference's weekly honor.
Cusick, from Salem, Ore., led the Rams at the Bank of Hawaii Invitational this weekend with a .455 batting average in 22 at-bats. Cusick recorded 10 hits, two doubles, three home runs, five RBIs and scored five runs at the tournament. She finished the weekend with a .955 slugging percentage and 21 total bases in the six games. Cusick went 2-for-4 in the Rams' game against No. 17/17 Hawaii with a double and a home run. She hit her second home run of the weekend in a 4-3 victory over St. Mary's. The third baseman finished the game 3-for-4 with two RBIs and one run scored. Her leadoff home run in the sixth inning vs. St. Mary's tied the score at 3-3. In the bottom of the eighth, Cusick singled to right field to plate freshman Ivory Allen from second and give the Rams the win. Cusick's third home run of the weekend came in the fifth inning against nationally-ranked Hawaii. Overall on the season, Cusick, who is on pace to break the school single-season and career home run records, has more doubles than any other MWC player (12) and is tied for first place with 11 home runs.
Kiss it Goodbye...
Colorado State is currently tied with BYU for the top spot in the MWC with 35 home runs. This past weekend in Hawaii the Rams knocked seven out of the park, with three of them coming from the bat of senior Lauren Cusick. Overall on the season, the Rams have hit 10 of their home runs in the first inning with three back-to-back. The most recent came against No. 17 Hawaii when Cusick led off the first inning with a home run to left field followed by freshman Caitlan Stem with a homer to center field.
A League of Her Own...
Colorado State Head Coach Mary Yori has now won 209 games at the helm of the Rams. She surpassed 200 in Las Cruces, N.M., when the Rams beat Illinois-Chicago, 9-5, at the Hotel Encanto de Las Cruces Invitational. Yori entered the 2008 season just eight wins away from 200 career wins at Colorado State. She 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 209-186, making her the winningest coach in CSU softball history. Yori also surpassed another milestone this season, coaching in her 1,000th game, an 11-3 (5) victory over Utah State at Ram Field on March 9.
The Big Five...
Heading into the doubleheader against Northern Colorado, five Rams hitters boast batting averages of .300 or better. As a team, the Rams lead the Mountain West Conference with a .302 batting average. Senior Julia Kloppe paces the Rams, hitting .441 (26-for-59). Freshman Caitlan Stem (36-for-91) follows Kloppe with a .396 average. Senior Lauren Cusick is hitting .365 (27-for-74) while leading the team in home runs (11) and RBI (24). Sophomores Ashley Munoz and Allison Majam boast a .341 (29-for-85) and a .312 (29-for-93) batting average, respectively. Those five players are responsible for 86 of the team's 128 RBI, or 67 percent, and 95 of 152 runs scored, or 62.5 percent. The quintet has also combined for 26 of 35 home runs, 36 of 46 doubles and all three of the team's triples this season.
Best in the West...
The Colorado State softball team leads the Mountain West Conference in a number of offensive categories, including batting average (.302), slugging percentage (.506) and total bases (390). The Rams are tied with BYU for most home runs (35). Colorado State also boasts the top defense in the MWC with a conference-leading .967 fielding percentage, while committing a league low 28 errors.
Two-Out Rally...
As a team, Colorado State is batting an even .300 with two outs with 46 percent of the team's RBI (59 of the 128) coming with two outs in an inning. Freshman Caitlan Stem leads the team with a .522 average (12-for-23), followed by senior Lauren Cusick with a .448 average (13-for-29). Stem has also recorded 12 of her 20 RBI with two outs while Cusick has recorded 9 of her 24 RBI with two outs.
Score Some More...
Rams starters are batting .320 with runners in scoring position. Senior Julia Kloppe leads the team with a .440 average (11-for-25) with runners on second or third.
Streaking...
Senior Lauren Cusick and sophomore Rebecca Penland are both riding a five-game hit streak coming into Saturday's games. After being blanked by Cal in the first game in Hawaii, Cusick and Penland hit .530 and .440, respectively., for the remainder of the tournament.
Outscoring the Opposition...
The Rams have scored a total of 152 runs this season while holding their opponents to 127 runs. In the second through sixth innings, Colorado State has scored 106 runs while opponents have scored only 68 runs in those innings.
Extra, Extra...
In extra innings, Colorado State has outscored its opponents 10-3, and is 3-0 in extra inning games. The most recent win in extras came this past weekend against St. Mary's. The Rams won 4-3 in eight innings thanks to a game-winning RBI single by senior Lauren Cusick in the bottom of the eighth to plate freshman Ivory Allen and give the Rams the victory.
