Softball preview: Rams continue six-game homestand

April 11, 2011

This week...
The Rams continue their six-game homestand this week. They will start with a non-conference game against in-state rival Northern Colorado on Wednesday at 4 p.m. MT. The game will mark the fourth and final game of the season between the two schools. CSU currently leads the season series, 2-1. The Rams will have two days off before the New Mexico Lobos visit Fort Collins to resume Mountain West Conference play in a two-game series. The conference rivals will face off at 1 p.m. MT on Saturday, and again on Sunday at 1 p.m. MT.

Previously...
CSU went 0-3 over a tough weekend of conference action. The Rams faced the UNLV Rebels on Friday for their conference opener. CSU trailed through five innings and nearly mounted a comeback with a four-run sixth, but ultimately could not overcome the Rebels' offense and lost, 9-8. On Saturday, the Rams faced the conference-leading San Diego State Aztecs, who came to town on an 11-game winning streak. CSU led by as many as eight runs through the first three innings, but the Aztecs slowly chipped away at the lead and later took the lead for good. A three-run home run from SDSU freshman Lorena Klopp capped a seven-run seventh inning that would ultimately befall the Rams. The two teams faced off again on Sunday, but the Aztecs erupted for 17 runs and defeated the Rams, 17-2, to extend their winning streak to 13 games.    

Conference play in 2010...
Last season, the Rams notched a 7-8 record in conference play, helping them to a 29-20 overall record and fourth-place finish in the conference. Of the 15 MWC games on the schedule, the Rams played seven at home, winning four. Between April 17 and May 13, CSU strung together three consecutive conference victories, defeating BYU, New Mexico and San Diego State.

Northern Colorado...
The 2011 season is the Bears' second in the Pacific Coast Softball Conference Mountain Division, where they were picked to finish second. They currently have an overall record of 7-28 and are 4-0 in conference play. The Bears finished the 2010 season with a 19-33 record (10-10 PCSC). This is their first season under head coach Mark Montgomery. Montgomery comes to the program from Centenary, where he coached for eight seasons and was the school's all-time winningest coach. CSU and UNC have already played three times this season, and the Rams have a 2-1 lead in the season series. Their two wins came on Feb. 12 at the Hotel Encanto Invitational in Las Cruces, N.M., and March 26 in the second game of a doubleheader in Greeley. Over the three games, CSU has outscored UNC, 22-15. 

Fall ball with the Bears...
The Rams faced Northern Colorado twice during the fall exhibition season, splitting the series. They first squared off on Sept. 19 at Ram Field in Fort Collins, where CSU gave up a game-winning home run, securing a 2-1 victory for the Bears. The two teams played again on Oct. 9, this time in Greeley. The Bears scored three runs to cut the Rams' 4-0 lead to one run, but the Rams held on for a 4-3 victory. 

New Mexico...
The Lobos come to Fort Collins with a 15-17 overall record (1-2 MWC) and currently rank third in the conference behind San Diego State and UNLV. Their last win came against UNLV, 2-1, on April 10 in Albuquerque. The roster features only three freshmen and has no seniors to be lost next season. Junior Jessica Garcia leads the conference in batting average (.449), and the team as a whole ranks second in both batting average (.297) and slugging percentage (.465). The Lobos finished with an 11-37 overall record in 2010 (1-14 MWC) and finished sixth in the conference. In the all-time series, CSU is 45-46 against New Mexico.

MWC rankings...
The Rams are ranked in the top three in three offensive categories: home runs (second, 33), hit by pitch (first, 24) and strikeouts (first, 246). In fielding, the Rams rank first in double plays with 14 (tied with Utah). Individually, freshman Emily Pohl ranks second in the conference in home runs with nine. The catcher has also caught 10 batters stealing and ranks third in that category. Senior Caitlan Stem cracked the top 10 in doubles (9), good for fourth in the conference (tied with San Diego State's Hayley Miles and BYU's Jessica Fitu). On the pitching side, freshman Desiree Laswell leads the conference in both games finished (18) and games in relief (19).

Home sweet home...
The Rams are currently playing in their first homestand since March 6, when they wrapped up the second annual Colorado State Classic with a 9-4 win against Santa Clara. The team went 1-4 over the weekend of March 4-6, highlighted by strong offensive performances by freshmen Emily Pohl and Alysa Greckel. The duo went a combined 12-for-34 over five games with eight total home runs and 15 RBI. Of the 18 remaining games left of the schedule, the Rams have more home games (9) than away games (7). Of those nine, five are against Mountain West Conference opponents. Non-conference home games include a fourth and final 2011 matchup with Northern Colorado on April 13 and a doubleheader against Portland State on May 2.

Score some more...
CSU has scored more than 10 runs on three occasions this season, resulting in two wins and one loss. The first win was in a 12-8 win over Minnesota on Feb. 12. The second high-scoring victory came on Feb. 25 in an 11-3 win over UC Davis. The loss came against San Diego State, 15-11, on April 9.

When scoring first...
The Rams are 5-8 when scoring first, resulting in wins against Northern Colorado (twice), UC Davis, Long Island and Jacksonville. When the opponent scores first, the Rams are 2-22. Those two wins came against Minnesota and Santa Clara.

Strength of schedule...
Seven of the Rams' 2011 opponents are currently ranked or receiving votes in the two national polls. They have faced No. 5/7 Texas, No. 13/14 Stanford, No. 18 Kentucky, No. 24 Texas Tech and No. 20 Texas A&M, and have lost all of those matchups. Conference rival BYU was placed in the preseason poll at Nos. 16 and 20 and received one vote in the latest ESPN.com/USA Softball poll. San Diego State received three votes in the same poll.

Freshman success...
The 10 freshmen on CSU's 2011 squad continue to make an impact on the Rams' season, contributing both offensively and in the field. Catcher Emily Pohl leads the team in home runs with nine, good for second in the Mountain West Conference. Morghan Doughty and Alysa Greckel rank second and third on the team with seven and six home runs, respectively. Pitcher Alexa Cash earned her first win of the season on March 13 against Long Island, pitching all seven innings and giving up one run. Pitcher Desiree Laswell earned her first win on March 6 against Santa Clara, pitching a complete game and holding the Broncos to four hits. Chelsea Biglow ranks fourth in home runs with four, her most recent in the form of a grand slam against San Diego State on April 9. Biglow also showed strong defense against SDSU; she recorded each putout of the third inning against the Aztecs April 10. A freshman currently leads the team in the categories of batting average (Barrett, .333), slugging percentage (Doughty, .538), on-base percentage (Biglow, .414), runs scored (Doughty, 28), hits (Greckel, 30), RBI (Biglow, 23), home runs (Pohl, 9), total bases (Doughty, 56), walks (Biglow, 18), hit by pitch (Pohl, 6), stolen bases (Doughty, 6), strikeouts (Greckel, 34) and games started (Greckel tied with senior Caitlan Stem, 37).

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