Colorado State University Athletics
Friday, March 20
Fort Collins, Colo.
4:00 PM
Colorado State
18-14, 0
0
vs
9
Fresno State
20-10, 0
1
2
3
4
5
R
H
E
Fresno State
6
0
0
3
0
9
10
1
Colorado State
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
4
Softball recap: Bulldogs defeat Rams in conference opener
3/20/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 20, 2015
Final Stats |
Photo Gallery 
FORT COLLINS, Colo. - After a weekend away, the Colorado State softball team returned to Fort Collins on Friday for its conference opener against Fresno State. The Rams fell to the preseason-favorite Bulldogs, 9-0, in five innings.
The Bulldogs (20-10, 1-0 MW) struck early, scoring five runs in the first inning. Just one of the runs was charged to starting pitcher Molly Randle, as Fresno State took advantage of three errors in the opening frame. The big dagger was a Chase LeeHong three-run home run - with all runs being unearned.
The Rams (18-14, 0-1 MW) seemed to have a counterpunch, as Haley Hutton and Haley David led off the bottom of the first with back-to-back singles, but pitcher Jill Compton worked out of the early jam and held CSU's bats quiet the rest of the afternoon. The Rams would reach base just twice more, once in the third on a Hutton single and again when freshman Madison Kilcrease reached base on a fielding error in the second.
"Our defense put us in a hole right away, and that was frustrating because Molly has been throwing so well," Head Coach Jen Fisher said. "They know that they didn't play their best and it was hard for Molly to find a groove because we were making so many errors. You can't give up six runs and expect to beat Compton, because she is so good."
Fresno State added a three-run home run in the fourth, allowing freshman Trinity Harrington to get into the game. She worked the final two innings, keeping the Bulldogs scoreless. Harrington struck out four in her two innings of near-perfect work, with the only batter to reach base coming on a fielding error.
"I was proud of Trinity," Fisher said. "I thought she did well coming into a tough situation. She had the mentality that we're looking for, that 'get after it attitude'. She's looked good like that all year and has thrown some great games so far, which made it really exciting to see her out in her first conference outing."
The loss is CSU's second in a row following its 11-game win streak to begin March. The Rams will look for revenge Saturday afternoon, taking on the Bulldogs for Game 2 of the three-game series. First pitch is at 1 p.m. at Ram Field. Admission is free.
The Bulldogs (20-10, 1-0 MW) struck early, scoring five runs in the first inning. Just one of the runs was charged to starting pitcher Molly Randle, as Fresno State took advantage of three errors in the opening frame. The big dagger was a Chase LeeHong three-run home run - with all runs being unearned.
The Rams (18-14, 0-1 MW) seemed to have a counterpunch, as Haley Hutton and Haley David led off the bottom of the first with back-to-back singles, but pitcher Jill Compton worked out of the early jam and held CSU's bats quiet the rest of the afternoon. The Rams would reach base just twice more, once in the third on a Hutton single and again when freshman Madison Kilcrease reached base on a fielding error in the second.
"Our defense put us in a hole right away, and that was frustrating because Molly has been throwing so well," Head Coach Jen Fisher said. "They know that they didn't play their best and it was hard for Molly to find a groove because we were making so many errors. You can't give up six runs and expect to beat Compton, because she is so good."
Fresno State added a three-run home run in the fourth, allowing freshman Trinity Harrington to get into the game. She worked the final two innings, keeping the Bulldogs scoreless. Harrington struck out four in her two innings of near-perfect work, with the only batter to reach base coming on a fielding error.
"I was proud of Trinity," Fisher said. "I thought she did well coming into a tough situation. She had the mentality that we're looking for, that 'get after it attitude'. She's looked good like that all year and has thrown some great games so far, which made it really exciting to see her out in her first conference outing."
The loss is CSU's second in a row following its 11-game win streak to begin March. The Rams will look for revenge Saturday afternoon, taking on the Bulldogs for Game 2 of the three-game series. First pitch is at 1 p.m. at Ram Field. Admission is free.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: COMPTON, J (12-7)
L: Randle, Molly (5-2)
Batting:
2B: SOLOMON, M 1
HR: WILLIS, K 1 ; LEEHONG, C 1
RBI: SOLOMON, M 1 ; WILLIS, K 3 ; GUMZ, P 1 ; LEEHONG, C 3
SF: GUMZ, P 1
Base Running:
RUNS: MOSS, B 1 ; RIVERS, M 2 ; SOLOMON, M 2 ; WILLIS, K 2 ; KENNEDY, B 1 ; LEEHONG, C 1
Base Running:
CS: Hutton, Haley 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
2
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
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