Softball preview: CSU heads to California

Feb. 24, 2011

Stanford Nike Invitational...
The Rams will head west this weekend looking to stop their six-game losing streak, at the Stanford Nike Invitational at Boyd and Jill Smith Family Stadium (820). A newcomer to the tournament, CSU will face five different opponents, two of which are currently receiving national attention. On Friday CSU will play both Kentucky and UC Davis, at 12:15 p.m. MT and 7 p.m., respectively. Then on Saturday, the Rams take on North Dakota State at 10 a.m. MT before facing host Stanford at 4:45 p.m. MT. They will conclude play at the invitational on Sunday against Memphis at 10 a.m. MT. Last year, Stanford won all four of its games at the invitational, defeating Illinois, UC Riverside, Nevada and Sacramento State. None of the visiting teams in this year's invitational participated in 2010.

Time Warner Cable Texas Invitational...
CSU played in five games in Austin last weekend, losing all of them. The Rams opened play against Missouri State and Wisconsin, dropping both games and scoring only three runs total. Next, they faced a formidable opponent in host Texas, ranked No. 13 in both national polls at the time. Texas remained unbeaten throughout the tournament, defeating CSU 12-4 and later 8-0 in a semifinal game on the same afternoon. CSU's final game was a rematch with Wisconsin for the third-place title, which the Badgers won with a seventh-inning rally. CSU Pitchers Kelsey Jo O'Brien and Desiree Laswell each received two losing decisions, while Alexa Cash received one.

Kentucky...
Kentucky comes to Stanford with an 8-2 record. The Wildcats are currently ranked No. 24 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll and received 27 votes in the USA Today/NFCA poll. They finished the 2010 season 32-27 (13-15 Southeastern Conference) under head coach Rachel Lawson and appeared in the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive season.

UC Davis...
The Aggies are currently 4-4, most recently defeating Sacramento State 3-1. Last season, the team clinched the Big West Conference title and an automatic NCAA tournament bid in a comeback win against UC Santa Barbara in the penultimate game of the season. The Aggies concluded play in 2010 with a 26-29 record (15-6 Big West).

North Dakota State...
North Dakota State comes to Stanford with a 3-7 record and an overall batting average of .210. The highest offensive output by NDSU so far came against Marshall in a 7-6 loss, with 10 hits. The Bison finished the 2010 season with a 33-25 record (14-8 Summit League) and .280 batting average.

Stanford...
Host Stanford is also receiving national attention, currently sitting in the No. 16 spot in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll and No. 17 in the USA Today/NFCA poll. The Cardinal recently upset No. 3 Tennessee behind senior pitcher Ashley Chinn. Chinn threw a one-hitter to shut out the Volunteers, 5-0. In 2010, the Cardinal finished in the No. 21 spot nationally, notching a 37-19 record and appearing in the NCAA tournament for the 13th consecutive season.

Memphis...
The Tigers have gotten off to the best start in program history, winning nine of their first 11 games. They are currently on a seven-game winning streak. Senior pitcher Janelle Valle threw a complete-game shutout against Appalachian State on Feb. 20, lifting the Tigers to a perfect 4-0 appearance at the Panther Invitational in Atlanta. They finished the 2010 season with a 25-26 overall record (8-15 Conference USA).

Freshman success...
CSU freshman Morghan Doughty currently leads the team in five categories: slugging percentage (.840), RBI (8), runs scored (7), home runs (4) and total bases (21).

Hit parade...
The Rams have collected at least eight hits in five of their first nine games and notched 10 hits on two occasions. Their batting average with runners in scoring position is .309 and they have attainted a .429 average with runners on third and less than two outs.

New coaching...
Director of Athletics Paul Kowalczyk announced on August 20, 2010 that Jen Fisher, the reigning NCAA Division II National Coach of the Year, had been hired to head the Colorado State softball program. Fisher takes over for Mary Yori who resigned this week after 10 seasons. Fisher becomes the 12th head coach in program history. A native of Fort Collins, Fisher attended Rocky Mountain High School where she starred for the Lobos in softball, basketball and tennis, and was selected as the school's female athlete of the year as a senior in 1990. She followed up her outstanding prep career by playing softball collegiately at Creighton for one season before transferring to Colorado School of Mines, where she played shortstop and was the Orediggers' team captain in 1994. At the conclusion of her playing career, Fisher returned home to Fort Collins, enrolling at Colorado State where her father, Wayne Schubert, has been a professor in the university's world-renowned atmospheric sciences program since 1973. Fisher completed her bachelor's degree in mathematics in 1997, also earning her secondary teaching license. During that time, Fisher began to establish her coaching roots firmly within the community. From 1994-98, she coached the Fort Collins Buckaroos softball club, spending four seasons with the program. Fisher also spent three seasons as a developmental coach at Poudre High School before embarking on her collegiate coaching career at Otero Junior College in La Junta, Colo. While at OJC (1998-2006), Fisher amassed an impressive record of 355-119 and won seven consecutive Region IX championships and Coach of the Year awards. Fisher's Rattlers squads averaged more than 43 victories per season. She mentored seven NJCAA All-Americans and guided 13 more student-athletes to academic All-America status. Fisher left OJC to resurrect a Metro State program that was slated to resume competition in 2008 after being disbanded in 1990. Using her consistent approach to the game, Fisher's winning ways continued immediately as the head coach of the Roadrunners. In three seasons at the NCAA Division II level, Fisher guided the program from infancy to 125 wins, while surrendering just 36 ballgames. And Fisher wasted little time in putting the Roadrunners' program on the national map as well. Fisher takes over for Mary Yori, who in 10 seasons in Fort Collins became the winningest coach in program history with an overall record of 276-242. She earned two Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year awards, and guided the Rams to the 2003 MWC tournament title and the 2004 regular-season championship. Overall in 21 seasons as a head coach Yori was 735-400 (.648).

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