Colorado State University Athletics
Saturday, March 6
Fort Collins, CO
12:30 PM MT
Colorado State
4-6
4
vs
3
Oregon State
7-5
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Oregon State
0
0
2
0
0
1
0
3
4
0
Colorado State
0
0
4
0
0
0
X
4
4
2
Rams Split Home Opener Saturday
3/6/2021 6:54:00 PM | Softball
Colorado State won the home opener against Oregon State, but fell in the second game of the day to South Dakota State.
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The Rams' preseason run had finally hit success, and it couldn't have happened at a better time.
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Hitting the second day of the UNC/CSU Tournament, the team had already accumulated two wins by the time Saturday rolled around at Ram Field. With the first game Saturday as a rematch against Oregon State, the team felt confident walking into their home opener after a pair of wins Friday in Greeley.
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"We were really excited today," sophomore pitcher Nelly Serna said. "We all kinda had this motto today to just attack it and take one pitch at a time. We had fun with it today. I feel like we came in with a lot of confidence because we were seeing the ball really well yesterday."
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The first game was off to a slow start. At least, it was until Danielle Serna launched a line drive out to a gap in the outfield. Her three-run double set the precedent for sophomore Peyton Allen to match it as the hosts scored four in the third inning, and the Rams stayed on top of the Beavers for the rest of the game for a 4-3 victory.
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Defensively, the team kept it together. The routine plays were completed, and the innings turned over quickly. With only four errors between both games on Saturday, defense proved to be Colorado State's strong suit.
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Offensively, the statistics told a different story. Deviating from their offensive explosion on Friday – 22 hits in all -- the team struggled as the lineup is still working through some rough patches before the start of the Mountain West season on March 13.
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The second game against South Dakota State highlighted the team's troubles, and the Rams lost to the Jackrabbits 6-0. Between the two games, the team only came up with eight hits, four in each contest.
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"We had some good wins (Friday) and our bats finally came alive," Allen said. "Going into this game, we wanted to keep that momentum going. We couldn't really string those hits together this last game, but I think we're all just glad to be enjoying it with each other and glad to be with one another. We're just growing; growth is the biggest thing."
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The pair of sophomores led the team offensively for the day. Allen accumulated three hits and one RBI, while Serna had two hits and three RBI.
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The Rams don't seem to struggle to get runners on the bases, but in driving them in. In the first game of the day, the roster left five runners out on the bases, each of which could've turned into valuable insurance runs. During the second game, there were five additional runners stranded.
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But coach Jen Fisher was happy about that statistic.
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"I think that's a positive stat," Fisher said. "That means you're getting a lot of traffic on the bases, and I don't mind having a lot of people left on. We put a lot of pressure on their defense, and yeah, we left some baserunners on, but we got them on in the first place."
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The small victories are where it counts, especially this season. This tournament is one of the few to go according to plan for the Rams, and Fisher is just excited to have "extra softball." This time on the field, despite the losses, could be the difference for the Rams when conference play starts next weekend.
Â
Because of the countless number of obstacles for the team this season, Fisher isn't disappointed with the stats the team has been putting up. Knowing she is introducing a young roster to an ambitious schedule, the growth this team has shown her what the rest of the season can hold.
Â
"I think yesterday we put up a lot of runs and looked really solid," Fisher said. "We definitely had some great scoring opportunities in that first game. Obviously, we ran into some strong pitching and just couldn't throw anything up in that second game, but I like the way defense is playing and I like the way the pitchers are throwing. We're just trying to keep improving offensively."
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The Rams close out the tournament tomorrow with a rematch with South Dakota State (1 p.m.) in Greeley.
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NOTES
- Danielle Serna led the Rams in the first game, recorded a pair of hits and three RBI
- The Rams scored all four runs on two doubles that came from Serna and Peyton Allen in the third inning
- Serna started in the circle throwing 5 2/3 inning before Taylor Gilmore came in on relief
- Serna (2-1) earned the win and Gilmore (1) recorded the save
- In game two, CSU recorded four hits, two coming from Allen
- Jalyn McGuffin registered one of the other hits, a double in the second
- Julia Cabral (0-3) was tagged with the loss, allowing five earned runs and striking out three batters
- Gilmore came in on relief again, throwing the last four innings, striking out three
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UP NEXT
Colorado State will finish the weekend in Greeley, Colo., facing South Dakota State at 1 p.m.
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Hitting the second day of the UNC/CSU Tournament, the team had already accumulated two wins by the time Saturday rolled around at Ram Field. With the first game Saturday as a rematch against Oregon State, the team felt confident walking into their home opener after a pair of wins Friday in Greeley.
Â
"We were really excited today," sophomore pitcher Nelly Serna said. "We all kinda had this motto today to just attack it and take one pitch at a time. We had fun with it today. I feel like we came in with a lot of confidence because we were seeing the ball really well yesterday."
Â
The first game was off to a slow start. At least, it was until Danielle Serna launched a line drive out to a gap in the outfield. Her three-run double set the precedent for sophomore Peyton Allen to match it as the hosts scored four in the third inning, and the Rams stayed on top of the Beavers for the rest of the game for a 4-3 victory.
Â
Defensively, the team kept it together. The routine plays were completed, and the innings turned over quickly. With only four errors between both games on Saturday, defense proved to be Colorado State's strong suit.
Â
Offensively, the statistics told a different story. Deviating from their offensive explosion on Friday – 22 hits in all -- the team struggled as the lineup is still working through some rough patches before the start of the Mountain West season on March 13.
Â
The second game against South Dakota State highlighted the team's troubles, and the Rams lost to the Jackrabbits 6-0. Between the two games, the team only came up with eight hits, four in each contest.
Â
"We had some good wins (Friday) and our bats finally came alive," Allen said. "Going into this game, we wanted to keep that momentum going. We couldn't really string those hits together this last game, but I think we're all just glad to be enjoying it with each other and glad to be with one another. We're just growing; growth is the biggest thing."
Â
The pair of sophomores led the team offensively for the day. Allen accumulated three hits and one RBI, while Serna had two hits and three RBI.
Â
The Rams don't seem to struggle to get runners on the bases, but in driving them in. In the first game of the day, the roster left five runners out on the bases, each of which could've turned into valuable insurance runs. During the second game, there were five additional runners stranded.
Â
But coach Jen Fisher was happy about that statistic.
Â
"I think that's a positive stat," Fisher said. "That means you're getting a lot of traffic on the bases, and I don't mind having a lot of people left on. We put a lot of pressure on their defense, and yeah, we left some baserunners on, but we got them on in the first place."
Â
The small victories are where it counts, especially this season. This tournament is one of the few to go according to plan for the Rams, and Fisher is just excited to have "extra softball." This time on the field, despite the losses, could be the difference for the Rams when conference play starts next weekend.
Â
Because of the countless number of obstacles for the team this season, Fisher isn't disappointed with the stats the team has been putting up. Knowing she is introducing a young roster to an ambitious schedule, the growth this team has shown her what the rest of the season can hold.
Â
"I think yesterday we put up a lot of runs and looked really solid," Fisher said. "We definitely had some great scoring opportunities in that first game. Obviously, we ran into some strong pitching and just couldn't throw anything up in that second game, but I like the way defense is playing and I like the way the pitchers are throwing. We're just trying to keep improving offensively."
Â
The Rams close out the tournament tomorrow with a rematch with South Dakota State (1 p.m.) in Greeley.
Â
NOTES
- Danielle Serna led the Rams in the first game, recorded a pair of hits and three RBI
- The Rams scored all four runs on two doubles that came from Serna and Peyton Allen in the third inning
- Serna started in the circle throwing 5 2/3 inning before Taylor Gilmore came in on relief
- Serna (2-1) earned the win and Gilmore (1) recorded the save
- In game two, CSU recorded four hits, two coming from Allen
- Jalyn McGuffin registered one of the other hits, a double in the second
- Julia Cabral (0-3) was tagged with the loss, allowing five earned runs and striking out three batters
- Gilmore came in on relief again, throwing the last four innings, striking out three
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UP NEXT
Colorado State will finish the weekend in Greeley, Colo., facing South Dakota State at 1 p.m.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Serna, Danielle (2-1)
L: MELANCON,TRYSTAN (1-1)
S: Gilmore, Taylor (1)
Batting:
2B: RADER,MAIA 1 ; SIMON,MADISON 1
3B: GIN,XIAO 1
RBI: RADER,MAIA 2 ; GIN,XIAO 1
Base Running:
RUNS: ZEIHER,ASHTON 2 ; GIN,XIAO 1
HBP: SEVAAETASI,CHARITY 1
Batting:
2B: Serna, Danielle 1 ; Allen, Peyton 1
RBI: Serna, Danielle 3 ; Allen, Peyton 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Michelena, Ashley 1 ; Gamboa, Corina 1 ; Serna, Danielle 1 ; McGuffin, Jalyn 1
HBP: Gamboa, Corina 2 ; Polenz, Brooke 1 ; McGuffin, Jalyn 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
3
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
2
R
1
H
0
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
MI/C
/ Softball
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/ Softball
P
/ Softball
C
/ SoftballP/INF
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