Preview: Rams Head to Fresno State for Three-Game Series

Colorado State Rams (15-7, 2-1 MW) vs. Fresno State Bulldogs (15-13, 0-0 MW)
March 23-25 | Margie Wright Diamond | Fresno, Calif.
Live Stats | MW Network

CSU Notes | Fresno State Notes

THE WEEKEND
• The Rams will continue Mountain West Conference this weekend, traveling to Fresno State.
• Colorado State will face the Bulldogs in a three-game series starting on Friday night at 7 p.m.
• The two teams will also play Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m., and finish Sunday at 1 p.m. All times are Mountain Time.
• All three games of the series will be broadcast on the Mountain West Network.

ON DECK
• Following this weekend's action, the Rams will have their bye week, which they will travel to Lawrence, Kan., to play Kansas in a three-game series.
• All three games will be broadcast on Kansas All-Access with a doubleheader on Friday starting at 12 p.m. MT.
• The series will finish on Saturday morning at 9 a.m.
• The Rams will return to Colorado and play at Northern Colorado on Tuesday, April 3 staring at 4 p.m.

RAMS AT A GLANCE
• Colorado State opening Mountain West Conference action last week, earning its first series win, 2-1 over Nevada at Ram Field.
• The Rams' two wins came via walk-off - just like Nevada's two wins the season before.
• Bridgette Hutton leads CSU from the circle with a 1.80 ERA and a 9-4 record. She posted a 2-0 record against Nevada with a 0.41 ERA in 17.0 innings. She also punched out 14 batters over the weekend.
• Sarah Muzik has been carrying a big bat as she holds a team-best .467 batting average and .524 on-base mark. Her batting average ranks No. 23 in the nation and her on-base, No. 36.
• Corina Gamboa leads CSU with five home runs and is second in batting with a .406 mark. She also has a team-high 17 RBI and six doubles.

SERIES HISTORY
• Colorado State holds an 8-37 all-time record against Fresno State.
• The Rams dropped the series, 2-1 last season in Fort Collins.
• Last season's series-opening win snapped a six-game losing streak which the Rams were swept the last two series.
• The Rams last win in Fresno was an 8-7 victory on May 4, 2014.
• CSU's win in 2014 was the first and only win the Rams have while playing at Margie Wright Diamond.

LAST TEN VS...
DATE                       TEAM                RESULT SCORE
5/13/17                 FRESNO STATE        L 2-5
5/12/17                 FRESNO STATE        L 2-7
5/11/17                 FRESNO STATE        W 5-3
4/24/16                 at Fresno State           L     2-7
4/23/16                 at Fresno State           L 2-3
4/22/16                 at Fresno State        L      6-9
3/22/15                 FRESNO STATE    L 2-11 (5)
3/21/15                 FRESNO STATE         L 1-3
3/20/15                 FRESNO STATE         L   0-9 (5)
5/4/14                   at Fresno State     W 8-7

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
• Fresno State finished its non-conference schedule with a 15-13 record after a 2-2 mark in the Fresno State Friendly last weekend.
• The Bulldogs dropped two close games to Illinois before rebounding with a two victories over Cal Poly.
• Fresno State recorded a 4-1 record at the Fresno State Invite and a 2-2 mark in the Judi Garman Classic.
• The Bulldogs struggled at the famous Mary Nutter Classic, dropping all five games.
• Fresno State started the season with a 3-2 record at the Kajikawa Classic and a 4-1 tick at the Bulldog Classic.
• Hayleigh Galvan leads the Bulldogs with a .364 batting average and a .517 on base percentage, while Savannah McHellon follows slugging .831, with 29 RBI, 12 homers and 30 hits.
• Danielle East carries a 7-6 record in the circle with 18 appearances and 14 starts. She has hurled four complete games, including four complete and a save.

RAMS IN NON-LEAGUE PLAY
• CSU is 13-6 in non-conference games this season after picking up five wins at the Colorado State Classic, March 9-11.
• Colorado State will play a three-game series at Kansas March 30-31 and at Northern Colorado April 3 during its bye week.
• The Rams posted a 19-7 mark against non-conference competition in 2017. That included a 10-3 record across the team's three home tournaments and six wins against teams from the Big Ten or Big 12.

CONFERENCE OPENING RECORDS
• The Rams are now 7-12 in Mountain West Conference opening games dating back to the leagues start in 2000 season.
• CSU is 4-5 in home opening Mountain West games, after a walk-off victory over Nevada this season.
• Colorado State is 3-7 opening conference games away from Ram Field.

HUTTON NAMED PITCHER OF THE WEEK
• Junior Bridgette Hutton was named Mountain West Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 21.
• Hutton was the first CSU softball player to earn a weekly award from the conference this season. The honor was also the second of her career.
• The psychology major posted a 2-1 record at the Hillenbrand Invitational, including hurling two complete games and the first shutout of the season with a 5-0 win over Tory.
• The Platteville, Colo., native allowed just four runs in the three games she appeared in, posting a 1.56 ERA.

RAMS LAST SEASON IN MW PLAY
• CSU finished 2017 with a 9-15 mark in league play owning 2-1 series wins over San Diego State and San Jose State - who are tabbed to finish first and second in the Mountain West in 2018.
• Unsurprisingly, three-time all-conference shortstop Haley Hutton was a standout in league action, toting a .372/.465/.455 slash line with 32 hits and 30 runs scored in 24 games.
• Hannah McCorkhill had a team-leading six homers against MW foes, while Lauren Buchanan led with 20 RBI.

TRANSFERS MAKING A MARK
• Transfer Sarah Muzik is making her mark for the Rams as the junior leads the team with a .467 batting average and .560 slugging mark, while carrying a .524 on base tick.
• The Hawai'i transfer also has recorded a team-best 35 hits and is 6-for-6 in stolen bases.

PETAKOFF'S PITCHING PROWESS
• Redshirt senior Larisa Petakoff is off to a great start, holding the team's best ERA at 1.78 across 19.2 innings pitched.
• She has appeared in eight games and allowed just 22 hits and five earned runs.
• She also has earned the teams only save, coming against Montana at the Hillenbrand Invite in Arizona.

GAMBOA HEATING UP AT THE HOT CORNER
• Sophomore Corina Gamboa has established herself as a threat at third base. So far this season, Gamboa posted 17 RBI with five home runs.
• She is currently second on the team with a .406 batting average and leads the team slugging .734.

COLORADO STATE CLASSIC HISTORY
• The Rams have hosted the Colorado State Classic the last eight seasons.
• CSU went 5-0 this season defeating Utah Valley, St. John's and Idaho State.
• Colorado State is now 31-12 in the tournament, dating back to 2010.
• Last season, CSU defeated Penn State twice during the tournament and rolled to quick wins against Buffalo and Idaho State.

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