Preview: Colorado State begins postseason playing Jackrabbits in NISC

Colorado State Rams (26-21, MW) vs. South Dakota State Jackrabbits (34-16, Summit)
May 16 | Gloria Rodriguez Field | Greeley, Colo.
Live Stats | Watch | CSU Notes | SDSU Notes | Regional Central

THE WEEKEND
• The Rams continue its 2018 season after receiving an at-large bid to the National Invitational Softball Championship (NISC).
• CSU will stay in the state of Colorado and travel to Greeley, Colo., and play South Dakota State in the first round of the NISC.
• Northern Colorado will play host for the regional and welcome South Dakota State, Loyola Marymount and Colorado State.

ON DECK
• If the Rams defeat the Jackrabbits in the first game, they will play the winner of Northern Colorado/Loyola Marymount on Thursday, May 17 at 3 p.m. Should CSU lose, it will then play the loser of game two on Thursday at 12 p.m.

RAMS AT A GLANCE
• Colorado State is making its first postseason appearance since 2003 and its third in program history, while making its debut in the National Invitational Softball Championship.
• The Rams struggled to finish the season, closing the regular slate 3-9 in their last 12 Mountain West Conference games.
• CSU ended the season with a 3-1 victory at UNLV, which snapped a seven-game skid.
• Colorado State's pitching staff is spinning a great season so far, carrying a 3.67 ERA - which is one of the lowest in the last 10 years.
• Bridgette Hutton is the primary slinger, holding a 14-11 record and a 3.07 ERA. The junior has thrown four shutouts and 123 strikeouts.
• Sarah Muzik leads the team with a .404 batting average and has recorded a team-high 64 hits and 41 runs scored. She also has swiped 15 bases in 19 attempts.
• Corina Gamboa is third on the team with a .342 batting mark, but paces the team with 33 RBI and eight home runs.

POSTSEASON HISTORY
• Colorado State holds a 2-4 all-time record in its two postseason appearances, (1997, 2003).
• In the Rams' postseason debut, they finished with a 2-2 record, earning its first-ever postseason victory against Brown College 10-0 in five innings.
• CSU went on to defeat Massachusetts 2-0 before dropping the last two games to Massachusetts 4-1 and 3-2 in eight frames.
• The Rams made an early exit in 2003 dropping the first game 11-1 in five inning to Arizona before ending the season with a 4-2 loss to CSUN.

ABOUT NISC
• Triple Crown Sports and the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) have joined forces to bring back the National Invitational Softball Championships, a postseason Division-I event that will highlight the explosive growth of softball and the depth of talent on college rosters from coast to coast. The NISC is managed by Triple Crown Sports, which is based in Fort Collins, Colo.

HITTING STREAKS
• Lauren Buchanan carries a team-best 10-game on-base streak, which dates back to the San Jose State series. In those 10 games, the junior has recorded six hits, while drawing three walks and two HBP for an on-base mark of .333.

SCOUTING THE JACKRABBITS
• South Dakota State enters the postseason with a 34-16 record, one of the best seasons in program history. The Jacks are making their first postseason appearance under head coach Krista Wood and second all-time, last hosting the 1996 DII Central Regional.
• The Rams hold a 2-0 lead over the Jacks, both coming back in 2010 at the CSU Classic.

SCOUTING THE BEARS
• Northern Colorado will carry a 28-26 record into the weekend and will play host for the NISC Regional. The Rams and Bears met twice earlier this season, with the Rams taking both contests. The Bears finished in second place at the Big Sky Tournament last weekend.
• CSU holds a 38-37 against the Bears winning the last 10 games.

SCOUTING THE LIONS
• Loyola Marymount begins the week with a 28-23-1 record and will face Northern Colorado in the opening round. This is LMU's first postseason action since 2007 when the program won the PCSC Championship and earned the automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
• Colorado State holds a 5-1 record against LMU, last meeting in 2016 at the Mary Nutter Memorial.

TICKETS
Tickets for the game are $10 for adults, while UNC students and youth (3-12,) tickets are $5 (children 2 and under are free). All tickets are general admission and can be purchased online at UNCBears.com

DONALDSON NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Sophomore Haley Donaldson was named MW 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.

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 leading the team with a .404 average and .472 slugging mark, while carrying a .461 on-base tick.
• The Hawai'i transfer also has recorded a team-best 65 hits and is 15-for-19 in stolen bases. Her 65 hits is on pace to break into the top-10 for most in a single season.

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 a team-best 33 RBI with eight home runs.
• She is currently third on the team with a .342 average and leads slugging .587.

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