Colorado State University Athletics
Softball preview: Rams host UNLV, SDSU to begin MWC action
4/6/2011 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 6, 2011
Complete Release in PDF Format 
This weekend…
The Rams will play in Fort Collins for the first time since March 6, opening Mountain West Conference play. They will face UNLV, their first MWC opponent of the season, on Friday at 4 p.m. MT at Ram Field. CSU will then host the San Diego State Aztecs on Saturday and Sunday at 3 p.m. MT and 1 p.m. MT, respectively. Friday’s game will be an Orange Out day, when the team will wear special Aggie-orange jerseys to pay homage to CSU’s past as the Colorado A&M Aggies. Fans are also encouraged to wear orange to the game.
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.
Against the Rebels and Aztecs…
In 2010, the Rams faced UNLV once and SDSU twice, this time on the road, to open conference play. They lost all three matchups. Overall, CSU went 0-3 against the Rebels and 1-2 against the Aztecs. The Rams will have an opportunity to break a series tie with the Rebels this season, as they are 29-29 all-time against them. Against SDSU, the Rams are 28-43 all-time.
UNLV…
The Rebels currently rank third in the Mountain West with an 18-13 overall record. Their most recent win came against Loyola Marymount at the Pre-Conference Round-Up in Las Vegas, where they defeated the Lions, 6-2. Freshman pitcher Amanda Oliveto was named MWC Pitcher of the Week on April 5, her second conference pitching honor of the season. Oliveto owns a 15-5 record with a 2.10 ERA over 130.0 innings with four shutouts and 15 complete games. The Rebels finished the 2010 season with a 33-20 overall record. They notched a 10-5 conference record, finishing in third place.
San Diego State…
The MWC-leading Aztecs come to Fort Collins with a 24-14 record and a 10-game winning streak. They have won 14 of their last 15 games and received three votes in the latest ESPN.com/USA Softball poll. The 2011 Aztec team features freshman Lorena Klopp, who with nine home runs is the current co-conference leader in that category (tied with CSU’s Emily Pohl). On April 5, Klopp hit two home runs and collected seven RBI over two games against Cal State-Northridge. SDSU went 34-16 in 2010 with an 11-4 conference record and finished second, behind BYU.
Division I stats…
Emily Pohl ranks 56th in the country among 300 ranked Division I players in home runs with nine. She also ranks within the top 100 in home runs per game (80th place, 0.26 home runs per game) and hit by pitch per game (98th place, 0.18). The team as a whole ranks 45th in double plays per game with 0.35 and 63rd in home runs per game with 0.82.
MWC rankings…
The Rams are ranked in the top three in three offensive categories: home runs (third, 28), hit by pitch (first, 21) and strikeouts (first, 228). In fielding, the Rams rank third in double plays with 12. Individually, freshman Emily Pohl leads the conference in home runs with nine (tied with San Diego State’s Lorena Klopp). The catcher has also caught 10 batters stealing and ranks second in that category (tied with Utah’s Brooke Olson). Freshman Alysa Greckel ranks sixth in the home-run category with six (tied with Utah’s Whitney Holm, UNLV’s Tayler Aleman and BYU’s Delaney Willard). Senior Caitlan Stem cracked the top 10 in doubles (7), good for sixth in the conference (tied with Klopp and Aleman). On the pitching side, freshman Desiree Laswell leads the conference in both games finished (15) and games in relief (16).
Home sweet home…
The Rams return to Fort Collins for the first time 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 (11) than away games (7). Of those 11, eight 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 two occasions this season, resulting in wins both times. The first 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.
When scoring first...
The Rams are 5-7 when scoring first, resulting in wins against Northern Colorado (twice), UC Davis, Long Island and Jacksonville. When the opponent scores first, the Rams are 2-20. 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 first in the Mountain West Conference. Alysa Greckel and Morghan Doughty rank second and third on the team with six and five 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. A freshman currently leads the team in the categories of batting average (Barrett, .333), slugging percentage (Pohl, .563), on-base percentage (Biglow, .400), runs scored (Doughty, 22), hits (Greckel, 28), RBI (Pohl, 19), home runs (Pohl, 9), total bases (Greckel, 50), walks (Biglow, 16), hit by pitch (Pohl, 6), stolen bases (Doughty, 6) and games started (Greckel tied with senior Caitlan Stem, 34).