Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
4-6
Texas
7-3
Softball recap: Rams fall short at Texas
2/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Box Score
AUSTIN, Texas - Colorado State dropped its weekend finale on Sunday, falling at Texas (RV/RV), 11-4, despite a one-run deficit midway through the game. CSU concluded the Texas Classic 2-3, defeating IPFW twice.
"It would be nice to get a signature win to help us get to that next level," Head Coach Jen Fisher said. "I do feel like a couple of years ago Texas wasn't in our reach; I feel like now it's more plausible. We hung with them both times this weekend. If we start playing our best, we can pick off the bigger kind of marquee programs."
After a low-scoring affair between the two teams on Saturday (4-1), Texas scored five runs in the first inning, to build a solid lead. The fourth batter of the game hit a three-run home run, forcing CSU to bring in Molly Randle in place of starter Larisa Petakoff. The Longhorns tacked on two more runs in the inning, but after that, Randle shut them down, holding them scoreless over the next four innings.
Meanwhile, CSU's bats got going, scoring one run in the second on an RBI single by freshman Madison Kilcrease, and three runs in the third to make it a 5-4 game. With two outs and two runners on base, senior Danielle Wikre hit an RBI double to left-center, scoring Haley Hutton, who led off the inning with a walk. After a Texas pitching change, senior Shae Rodriguez singled to right, driving in both Wikre and freshman Savannah Clark, who also reached base via a walk.
It remained a one-run ballgame into the fifth inning, but that's when the Longhorns blew the game open, scoring three runs on four hits in the fifth and three more in the sixth.
"When we talked to the team after, they were disappointed, because we were in the game for quite a while," Fisher said. "We gave up an early lead, but battled back to make it a close game until the bottom of the sixth. This game is only considered a failure if we leave and haven't learned anything or made any adjustments. We still have a relatively young pitching staff and in the infield, but I like the progress that I see."
Despite leaving 13 runners on base, Texas was able to still score 11 runs thanks to 15 hits and seven walks. The Rams were limited to six hits, led by Kilcrease's two. The Rams used all four of their pitchers in the game.
"I think we're still a work in progress," Fisher said. "We came closer, but ran into different types of problems. We have to keep getting at it and making sure we get people on for scoring. We need to be able to execute in all types of situations. Offensively, I think we did better this weekend, but we still have some work to do, which we're capable of fixing."
The Rams return to the diamond Friday in Tempe, Ariz., for the Kajikawa Classic. CSU will face five teams, including nationally ranked Arizona State.
"We're out here to learn how to play like and beat the best, and all of our tournaments are like that, which will help make sure we're firing on all cylinders come conference play," Fisher said.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Davis (3-1)
L: Petakoff, Larisa (1-1)
Batting:
2B: Wikre, Danielle 1
RBI: Wikre, Danielle 1 ; Rodriguez, Shae 2 ; Kilcrease, Madison 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hutton, Haley 1 ; Clark, Savannah 1 ; Manzanares, Jaelyn 1 ; Wikre, Danielle 1
HBP: Manzanares, Jaelyn 1
Batting:
2B: Tunning 2 ; Hanzel 1
HR: Kern 1
RBI: Tunning 3 ; Wong 1 ; Kern 3 ; Hanzel 2 ; Davis 1
SH: Ceo 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Tunning 2 ; Stephens 1 ; Kern 1 ; Leahy 1 ; Gabaldon 1 ; Angel 1 ; Hanzel 1 ; Krpec 1 ; Ceo 2
SB: Wong 2 ; Stephens 1
HBP: Krpec 1
