Preview: Colorado State heads to Utah for three games

Colorado State Rams (21-11, 5-4 MW) vs. Utah State Aggies (13-23, 3-9 MW)
April 13-15 | LaRee & LeGrand Johnson Field | Logan, Utah
Live Stats | Mountain West Network

CSU Notes | Utah State Notes

THE WEEKEND
• The Rams continue Mountain West action at Utah State this weekend.
• Colorado State will head to Logan, Utah for a three-game series starting Friday, April 13 at 4 p.m. MT.
• The Two teams will also play Saturday night at 4 p.m. MT and finish Sunday afternoon at 12 p.m. MT.
• The series will be broadcast on the Mountain West Network.

ON DECK
• Following the away series with the Aggies, the Rams will host San Jose State April 20-22.

RAMS AT A GLANCE
• Colorado State won its second Mountain West series last week with a 2-1 record against New Mexico.
• The Rams dropped the first game in 10 innings after the Lobos scored four unanswered runs.
• CSU took care of business the final two games, earning run rule victories in both. The Rams outscored the Lobos 23-9 in the series.
• After a stellar series, Haley Donaldson was named the Mountain West Player of the Week.
• Bridgette Hutton leads CSU from the circle with a 2.79 ERA and an 11-6 record. She recorded the win in the series finale against New Mexico, hurling 3 1/3 inning in the short games.
• Freshman Ashley Michelena has been carrying a big bat as she holds a team-best .424 batting average and .500 on-base mark. Her on-base average ranks No. 61 in the nation.
• Corina Gamboa leads CSU with seven home runs and is fourth in batting with a .363 mark. She also has a team-high 26 RBI and eight doubles.
• The Rams are 21-11 through 32 games, which is their best record since 2014 when the team was 23-9. CSU is also batting nearly the same as that year with just a one below, (.308).
• Even though CSU isn't hitting as many homers as the 2014 team (30), they have hit more doubles and triples than any team has at this point of the season since 2010.

SERIES HISTORY
• Colorado State holds a 21-36 all-time record against the Aggies.
• The Rams dropped the series last year, 1-2 record at Ram Field.
• CSU's lone victory against USU in 2017 was a 3-0 win in the series finale.
• The Rams are 2-8 in the last 10 games in the series, including 3-7 in Logan.

LAST TEN VS...
                DATE       TEAM                      RESULT
                4/15/17 UTAH STATE          W 3-0
                4/14/17 UTAH STATE          L 0-4
                4/13/17 UTAH STATE          L 2-6
                4/26/16 at Utah State         L 3-4
                4/25/16 at Utah State         W 8-1
                4/25/16 at Utah State         L 8-10 (10)
                4/8/15   UTAH STATE          L 3-5
                4/7/15   UTAH STATE          L 1-9
                4/7/15   UTAH STATE          L 8-9
                3/23/14 at Utah State         L 2-7

SCOUTING THE AGGIES
• Utah State enters the week with a 13-23 overall record and 3-9 in the Mountain West.
• The Aggies suffered a non-conference loss on Wednesday to Idaho State, 9-7.
• USU opened Mountain West action getting swept by Boise State in Logan, all in five innings.
• The Aggies earned its first and only conference series win over UNLV, 2-1 after dropping the first game against the Rebels.
• Last week Utah State got swept by Fresno State.
• The Aggies' three MW wins are against UNLV and one against Nevada.
• Brina Buttacavoli leads USU from the plate batting .366 with 31 RBI, 37 hits and six homers.
• Amee Aarhus follows with a .337 batting mark, while Jazmin Clarke leads the squad with 39 hits and a .336 mark, while also stealing 23 bases.
• Delaney Hull paces the team from the circle with a 2.62 ERA and carries a 7-6 record. She has hurled a team-high 90 2/3 innings, including recording three shutouts and nine complete games.

DONALDSON NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Sophomore Haley Donaldson was named Mountain West Player of the Week on April 10.
• Donaldson was the second CSU softball player to earn a weekly award from the conference this season. The honor was also the first of her career.
• The sophomore led Colorado State last week in nearly every category offensively. She finished a .571 batting mark, eight hits, including four doubles and a home run.
• The human development and family studies major drove in five runs, while slugging 1.071 and posting a .647 on-base percentage. • Donaldson registered a hit in all four games last week, including three games with two-or-more hits and one with three base hits.
• Donaldson also finished perfect at short for the week with six assists and five putouts.

HITTING STREAKS
• Ashley Michelena carries a team best nine-game hitting streak into Logan, Utah.
• She is second in the last six games in batting average with a .474 mark. She also recorded nine hits, two doubles and a triple in those games for a .684 slugging percentage and .565 on-base tick.

RAMS IN NON-LEAGUE PLAY
• CSU finished 16-7 in non-conference games this season after picking up three wins in its final week of non-conference action.
• The Rams went 2-1 at Kansas March 30 -31 before finish the schedule defeating Northern Colorado for the second time this season with a 9-1 victory in five innings on Tuesday.
• 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.

FRESNO STATE SERIES
• Despite dropping the series at Fresno State, 2-1. The Rams put up a fight against the Bulldogs in its first Mountain West Conference series away from Fort Collins.
• The Rams offense hit their way into early leads in each game, but could not hold on down the stretch.
• Colorado State picked up a 4-0 victory in the second game to force a rubber match in the final game of the series. The shutout was the first for the Rams at Margie Wright Diamond and just the second win against the Bulldogs in Fresno, Calif.
• The shutout was also just the second time in series history for the Rams - April 28, 1997 at Ram Field.
• The win was the first in Fresno, since May 4, 2014 - the first and only win at Margie Wright Diamond.
• Colorado State lead 3-0 heading into the fifth inning in the final game, but Fresno State scored four runs over the last three innings to steal the series.

SEASON START
• The Rams started the season 4-0 of the first time since 2014 with a perfect record at the Texas Classic.
• Colorado State then improved its record to 7-0 at the Hillenbrand Invite to have its best start since 1997 when the team started 8-0.
• With a victory over Northern Colorado to open Ram Field, the Rams were 8-1 for the first time since 2008 when the team began, 10-1.

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.

TRANSFERS MAKING A MARK
• Transfer Sarah Muzik is making her mark for the Rams as the junior is second on the team with a .404 batting average and .491 slugging mark, while carrying a .456 on base tick.
• The Hawai'i transfer also has recorded a team-best 46 hits and is 10-for-11 in stolen bases.

PETAKOFF'S PITCHING PROWESS
• Redshirt senior Larisa Petakoff is off to a great start, holding the team's best ERA at 1.72 across 20.1 innings pitched.
• She has appeared in nine games and allowed just 23 hits and five earned runs.
• She also has earned a save, coming against Montana at the Hillenbrand Invite.

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 26 RBI with seven home runs.
• She is currently fourth on the team with a .363 batting average and leads the team slugging .647.

#CSURams

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results