Colorado State University Athletics

Friday, March 23
Fresno, Calif.
7 PM MT

Colorado State

at

Fresno State

Team
Photo by: Tomas Redondo

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

3/21/2018 11:33:00 AM | Softball

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.
 
Tuesday, June 16
Sunday, April 21
Sunday, April 07
Saturday, March 26