Softball preview: Rams host Utah State in action-packed week

April 6, 2015

Utah State is 12-24 on the season, including 4-5 in Mountain West play. The Aggies went 2-1 at Nevada in late March, but went 1-2 at home against both New Mexico and UNLV. Utah State started the season 0-7.
Sarah Chow (.438; fourth in the MW) and Hailey Froton (.381) are the Aggies' top hitters, with Chow getting on base at a .500 clip. Froton has a team-leading 35 RBI (fourth in the MW), while Chow ranks second on the team with 24 runs scored and first with six stolen bases on six attempts.
Four pitchers have earned starts for Utah State, but just one (Noelle Johnson) has more than one victory. Johnson is 10-10 with a 3.59 ERA, tossing three shutouts and earning two saves. She has pitched nearly 60 percent of her team's innings and has struck out 105 batters -- third in the MW.
The Aggies rank in the middle of the pack in the MW for most offensive categories, led by third for slugging percentage, doubles and triples. They rank last in stolen bases, and ERA, however.
All-time, CSU is 18-28 against Utah State. The Rams were swept last year in Logan, Utah, to begin conference play.

SCOUTING NEW MEXICO

New Mexico enters the week with a record of 22-16, including 6-3 in Mountain West play. The Lobos have won all three conference series, going 2-1 against Utah State, UNLV and Nevada.
The Lobos have a potent offense, ranking in the top three in the Mountain West for every offensive categoriy except for doubles (fifth). New Mexico has scored 195 runs, just ahead of CSU's 192.
Two players rank in the top seven in the MW for batting average, leading a balanced offense that features four hitters slugging better than .500. Brandi Heimburg has 30 runs scored (seventh in the MW), followed by Mariah Rimmer's 26. Rimmer also leads the team for batting (.411) and stolen bases (9-for-10). Jasmine Casados is hitting .404 (seventh), slugging .636 (sixth) and has 33 RBI (seventh), while Michala Erickson has six home runs.
Three pitchers have at least six wins. Krissy Fortner is 7-3 with five saves, 47 strikeouts and a 2.68 ERA. The numbers rank seventh, first, ninth and fourth, respectively, in the MW.
CSU is 53-50 against New Mexico, playing the Lobos more than any team except for Utah.

RAMS VS. SPARTANS IN REVIEW

Game 1: The Rams picked up their first conference victory of the season in a big way, shutting out the league's top-hitting team, San José State. Junior Holly Reinke tossed a complete-game shutout to earn the victory, while on offense, senior Shae Rodriguez delivered with two hits and three RBI. Freshman Savannah Clark had an RBI double, while senior Haley David scored twice. CSU scored one run in the fourth, three in the sixth and two in the seventh.
Game 2: Freshman Trinity Harrington tossed yet another complete-game shutout, as CSU defeated San José State, 1-0. The Rams were spectacular in the circle and in the field, recording two double plays and zero errors. The game's only run came in the fifth inning. Senior Taylor Hutton recorded her second hit of the game, and sophomore Taryn Arcarese reached on a fielder's choice. Sophomore Haley Hutton walked to advance Arcarese to second with two outs, setting up senior Haley David's base hit through the right side to score Arcarese.
Game 3: Following back-to-back shutouts, the Spartans got revenge, scoring eight times to defeat the Rams, 8-0, in five innings. They scored once in the second inning, before piling on five runs in the third and two more in the fourth. Senior Danielle Wikre had the Rams' only hit, singling in the second. Despite the loss, CSU still won the series.

BACK-TO-BACK SHUTOUTS
San José State entered last week with a Mountain West most 25 victories. The Spartans led the conference in eight statistical categories, including averaging 6.49 runs per game, which ranked 33rd nationally. SJSU had been shut out just once all season, but that changed quickly, as the Rams stymied the Spartans in back-to-back games. In the opener, SJSU had seven hits and drew four walks, but junior Holly Reinke kept the Spartans off the board. A day later, in a 1-0 victory, freshman Trinity Harrington allowed five hits and zero walks in a complete-game shutout.

The back-to-back shutouts were the first for the Rams since March 2013. The team hadn't recorded shutouts in back-to-back road games since May 2003.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
During the early part of the season, Head Coach Jen Fisher and the Rams were looking for consistency. CSU ranked among the Mountain West leaders in several offensive statistical categories, and returned all of its pitching production from a year ago, but struggled defensively. After all, just one infielder played defense for the Rams last year (Haley Hutton) and it wasn't at her current position. CSU ranked last in the conference for fielding percentage, accounting for 50 unearned runs.

Facing second-place San Jose State last weekend in San José, a team which leads the MW for runs per game, the Rams were good offensively -- scoring six runs -- and nearly perfect on defense and in the circle, allowing zero runs and committing just one error. A day later, CSU's Trinity Harrington again kept the Spartans off the board, as CSU played error-free defense, and made several spectacular plays.

"I was really happy for our entire team today, because they've worked so hard," Fisher said following CSU's first conference win of the season. "I think we were finally able to show ourselves today, and display what we're capable of doing. We played incredible defense, and finally put all phases of the game together."

MARCH MOMENTUM
After beginning the season 7-12, including six games against teams ranked or receiving top-25 votes, CSU drastically turned its season around once the calendar turned to March. Beginning March 1, the Rams won 11-consecutive games, the program's longest winning streak since 2003. After, they would go on to lose four games in a row, but turned it around by beating Northern Colorado and winning the series at second-place San José State. Since March 1, CSU is 14-5.

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