Colorado State University Athletics
Rams announce 2017 schedule
12/16/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Complete 2017 Schedule
FORT COLLINS, Colo. - The Colorado State Rams softball team has announced its 2017 schedule, which includes 27 games at home and three tournaments hosted at Ram Field.
Seven non-conference squads will converge upon Ram Field across the three home tournaments, including a pair of Big Ten teams (Penn State, Wisconsin) and Big 12 member, Texas Tech. The 27 contests at Ram Field is 10 more than were on the schedule last season.
"It's always a goal of ours to keep our students in classes as much as possible," CSU head coach Jen Fisher said, emphasizing the importance of home games. "The traveling gets to be an ordeal when you're away a lot more than you're at home. We typically play pretty well at home, so that's another bonus."
The Rams will open the 2017 slate in Austin, Texas for a tournament hosted by the Texas Longhorns, Feb. 10-12. CSU will play Texas and Maryland twice and Minnesota once for a challenging first five contests.
"The players are going to be excited," Fisher said about her team being ready for a tough opening tournament. "We had a tough time out of the gate last year, but we knew we were playing very high-quality opponents. I think the squad handled that well. I think they can handle going up against these teams mentally; it's more about if our processes are working. I think we can surprise a couple teams."
CSU will then head to Las Vegas for the DeMarini Desert Classic the following week (Feb. 17-19), where they will face Connecticut, Northern Iowa, Southern Utah, Idaho State and Weber State for another five-game weekend.
The Rams will play their first game at home against Northern Colorado on Feb. 28, preceding the team's first home tournament. The Colorado State Classic I will take place March 3-5 at Ram Field, featuring Penn State, Buffalo and Idaho State.
The Colorado State Classic II will occur the following weekend, with Maine and Wisconsin coming to Fort Collins. In between the first two home tournaments, CSU will visit Greeley for a second meeting against Northern Colorado. The Rams and Bears will play three games against each other this season, with the Bears returning to Ram Field on April 11.
"We get to play some quality teams this year," Fisher said. "These are also teams that we have not played much recently or ever, so it'll be exciting to see what they bring. Hopefully we will have a few weekends with good weather and our fans out there supporting us."
The Rams will begin Mountain West play on the road at Boise State, March 17-19. CSU will host San Diego State, March 24-26, in its first home league action. CSU will host MW foes SDSU, Utah State, UNLV and Fresno State this year.
Texas Tech and South Dakota will visit Fort Collins for a late, non-conference tournament during CSU's MW bye week. The Rams will play each school twice for four total games, May 6-7.
Fisher and her staff believe they have a talented group that can contend this season.
"I think we are going to be a little more offensive-minded than we have been in a while, so hopefully we are getting our pitchers some run support," Fisher said. "We have more outfield depth than we have had the last couple years. I think we are going to continue to stay stable on the mound. If we can get the pitchers more run support, it will allow for more breathing room. That's our goal."
