RamWire: #25Strong ties present to past for CSU softball

FORT COLLINS – As her ninth season approached, Jen Fisher had a very strong vision for the Colorado State softball season. Not just what the Rams could do, but how they would pursue success.

#25Strong

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For Fisher, the hashtag stirred two very strong feelings, both of which she believed were tightly intertwined.

"What it meant to me was we have 25 staff and players that are really strong women, and each of them brings their own individual gifts and talents to the team, and together, that makes us really, really strong," Fisher said. "When we also think about it's been 25 years since the team has been reinstated, that number is just so special. I think this team mimics a lot of the same qualities I see when I read and hear about the history. To have that 25-year celebration, it's kind of ironic there were 20 people on the roster and the five support staff who work with the team the most, the four coaches and the trainer."

Together, the 2019 squad has put forth the most memorable campaign in recent history. The Rams have already won a share of the Mountain West crown, the third for the program. With the title, they are headed to NCAA regionals for the third time, the first trip for a Fisher-led team. At 38-10, the Rams have notched the third most wins in season, behind the 51-14 team of 1997 and the 40-14 squad in 2004.

A year ago, the Rams were 27-23, 10-14 in conference, but Fisher knew there was more than other people saw. They just had to get it to come out.

They had to be strong. Together.

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The strongest team Laura Bielak ever played for didn't fill out a complete roster. They were just 13 deep, and the positions they took were not on the field. Without throwing a pitch or swinging a bat, they posted the biggest victory in Colorado State softball history.

In a courtroom.

In 1992, Bielak played shortstop for the Rams as they went 33-25, only to find out at the end the university was cutting the program. In 1993, she was in court with 12 other teammates.

"It's something we all still talk about and it sticks with us like it was yesterday, because it was such a painful thing," she said. "It was shocking, and we were stunned and we had never heard of a program being cut before like this. We were not sure what to do and how to go forward. We were shocked and didn't know what we could do."

On June 1, 1992, the team was cut. July of that year, the first injunction to block the move was denied, but an agreement was reached not to sell the team's equipment. In February of 1993, the decision was overturned and it was found CSU had violated the program's Title IX rights. The Rams were back in play.

Only eight members of the 1992 team returned for the 1994 season. Bielak did so as a senior, spending her redshirt year for the right to play. She knows the decision wasn't warmly received by all, also noting some members of the administration gave the team their full support.

"Then we were like, what do we do? We don't have a coach, we don't have a schedule, we don't have practice stuff," said Bielak, who now works as a paralegal for the Denver City Attorney's office. "We were kinda like the Bad News Bears in putting ourselves together and do what we could to keep practice and keep training until we were able to get a coach and put that in place. But we were so excited, for that time and for the future. We didn't think about anything else."

Bielak does know the current Rams understand what they went through, sharing their stories at an alumni game this year. She looked at the players, how the expressions on their faces showed engagement and introspection. Afterward, the flow of questions kept coming.

To Fisher, at a time when the country's youth are viewed as expecting handouts, she feels her team sensed empowerment.

"This day and age, we hear about how our youth aren't appreciative and they're entitled. It's just the complete opposite for me with this team," she said. "They absolutely loved hearing from the alumni. They love hearing those stories of what they went through, and they have so much respect. I think that from hearing from my peers, and I think that's pretty special in this day and age.

"They don't feel entitled. We know they have to earn it."

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Which the Rams did. By going perfect in March and establishing the program record with 20 consecutive wins. They were picked to finish seventh in a preseason poll of coaches – a spot they had occupied three of the past four seasons – and swept the first three Mountain West series. There are 12 shutouts among those wins, CSU leads the nation in doubles and the postseason awaits.

Pitcher Bridgette Hutton honestly believes the urge to push back stems from last season when the team staged a sit-in to protest what they felt was an inequitable use of facilities. While nobody is comparing the actions of 1993 to 2018, Fisher says her team learned their collective voice will be heard, creating a stronger group of women.

"Having the #25Strong and being together has been our key this year," Hutton said. "What they did, they definitely had adversity, and all the adversity built up. Last year we had our sit-in, and I think that motivated us to be where we are now. Our season isn't all about the sit-in, but it is kinda like our base. That drove us to not expect more, but to play for each other and how we want this program to be built."

The number 25 stirs symbolic emotions in all of them. There has been a strength in it, from the 25 making their own history this year, to the fact it comes 25 seasons after the reinstatement.

It could all just be a coincidence, but the bond they feel is real.

"It so special. It kinda hits it home for us," Hutton said. "Having it on the 25^th year, having this successful season is just amazing. All the motivation from years past, the sit-in, from Laura Bielak and all their stories just motivated us to want to have a successful season. This year, I think it's just amazing. The chemistry is so amazing. I couldn't ask for a better season."

The hashtag means so much to so many people around the program, Fisher is proud the dual message has tied the present with the past. Some of the biggest fans of this team are the women who helped make it all possible.

"I really like that there's that connection and the numerology to it," Bielak said. "I think that's kinda cool."

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