Colorado State University Athletics
SOFTBALL PREVIEW: Northern Colorado
3/27/2009 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 27, 2009
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Home Sweet Home…
Colorado State returns home this weekend to face in-state rival Northern Colorado at Ram Field. The teams are scheduled to play a doubleheader on Sunday with the first pitch scheduled for 12 p.m. MDT. Last season, Colorado State defeated Northern Colorado 6-2, 18-12 and 11-3, respectively.
About Northern Colorado…
The Bears are 11-20 this season and are riding a three-game win streak after defeating Utah Valley three times last weekend. At the plate, Northern Colorado is led by freshman Melisa Ryba with a .311 batting average. She has started 30 games for the Bears in her freshman campaign and has recorded four doubles, two home runs and eight RBI. Hillarie Van Otterloo has started 11 games in the circle for the Bears, throwing 67.2 innings. She has struck out 37 batters while recording a 6.38 ERA. The Bears hold a 33-15 advantage over the Rams in the all-time series, but Colorado State is 14-0 against Northern Colorado under Head Coach Mary Yori.
Capital Classic…
The Rams finished the Capital Classic in Sacramento, Calif., with a 2-2 record. Colorado State lost to host Sacramento State 8-7 in eight innings on the first day of the tournament, but rebounded on the second and third day to record a 6-1 victory over Dartmouth and a 2-1 victory over No. 10/7 Cal. Cal Poly handed the Rams a 2-1 loss on the final day of the tournament to give them a 2-2 tournament record.
Capital Classic Leaders...
Sophomore Caitlan Stem led the Rams at the plate during the Capital Classic, batting .455 while recording a double and two RBI. Freshman Christine Thomsen followed Stem with a .400 average during the tournament while recording a triple and seven RBI. Freshman Kelli Eubanks tossed 19.1 of the 28.1 innings for Colorado State during the tournament, allowing only seven earned runs while striking out 15 opposing batters.
Home Openers…
Colorado State is 6-2 in home openers under Head Coach Mary Yori, with all six victories occurring in the last six seasons.
Freshman Duo…
Freshmen Dani Chaplin (5-5) and Kelli Eubanks (6-6) have combined for 25 starts this season and 32 appearances in the circle. They have thrown a combined 150 innings while recording 104 strikeouts. Chaplin has recorded a 2.77 ERA while keeping opposing batters at a .260 average. Eubanks has recorded a 2.16 ERA with opposing batters hitting .254 against her.
Big Victory...
Colorado State posted a 2-1 victory over No. 10/7 Cal last weekend at the Capital Classic. Freshman Christine Thomsen and junior Rebecca Penland recorded the two RBI for the Rams in the game and freshman Kelli Eubanks picked up her sixth win of the season, tossing a complete game while only allowing one run on five hits.
Leading Off...
Leadoff batters for the Rams this season have recorded a .350 batting average (75-for-214). Junior Robyn Mask is 9-for-16 (.563) as a leadoff and leads the team followed by junior Ashley Munoz who has recorded a .429 average (9-for-21) as a leadoff. Sophomore Caitlan Stem has batted in the leadoff spot in all 33 games for the Rams and has recorded a .417 average (20-for-48) when leading off an inning.
Score Some More...
As a squad, Colorado State has batted .303 (82-for-271) with runners in scoring position. Sophomore Caitlan Stem leads the Rams with a .565 average (13-for-23) with runners on second or third, followed by freshman Christine Thomsen who has recorded a .406 average (13-for-32) with runners in scoring position.
The .300 Club...
Three Ram batters have recorded a .300 batting average or better through 33 games this season. Sophomore Caitlan Stem leads the team with a .355 average at the plate followed by freshman Christine Thomsen, who has recorded a .330 average. Junior Allison Majam ranks third on the team with a .329 average.
Two-Out Rally...
Colorado State is batting .253 as a team with two outs this season. Junior Allison Majam leads the Rams with two outs, batting .476 (10-for-21). Majam is followed by sophomore Caitlan Stem, who is batting .467 (14-for-30) with two outs. Colorado State has recorded 41 percent of its RBI with two outs this season.
Score First...
The Rams have recorded a 13-6 record when they score first in a game. At the Capital Classic, Colorado State scored first in three of its four games and recorded a 2-1 record. The Rams are 12-3 overall when they score in the first inning of games. Colorado State finished 1-1 at the Capital Classic when scoring in the first inning.
Streaking...
Sophomore Caitlan Stem currently has a four-game hitting streak, followed by junior Rebecca Penland, who is in the middle of a three-game hitting streak. Stem’s longest hitting streak lasted five games and she can surpass that total this weekend against Northern Colorado. Penland can also surpass her season long this weekend with a hit in each game.
