Rams Christen Refurbished Home With Big Hits

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Oct 11

10:00 AM

Softball

vs Nebraska - Omaha

Oct 11

3:00 PM

Softball

at Nebraska

Oct 12

10:00 AM

Softball

at Nebraska

Oct 19

1:00 PM

Softball

vs Northern Colorado

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Driving in runs is a rush.

Doing so with two outs is a massive surge to the pulse of the team, especially since an opposite reaction effect reverberates in the opposing dugout.

Doing all of that on a day when you're christening your new yard is simply glorious.

"It was so incredible. It was like a brand new era of Rams softball," catcher Brooke Bohlender said. "As long as I've been here, I've only seen one field. Having a chance to finally play on a new an improved field was just so amazing. I think our team brought the energy and a new vibe with the new field."

Colorado State's softball team opened Mountain West play with a decisive 10-5 victory over San Diego State at the newly refurbished Ram Field on Friday, with half of the runs plated with two outs. Two clutch swings by Molly Gates and Kaitlyn Cook put the Rams (15-7, 1-0) in front – both part of three-run frames – and a third outburst in the sixth gave the team wiggle room it didn't need.

Gates, a transfer from North Dakota State, felt right at home on a sub-50-degree day with the winds howling at times when she stepped to the plate in the second, CSU down 2-1 after a Bohlender RBI infield single. The Rams loaded the bases with nobody out, and with one down, Bohlender's chopper in the hole at short dented the scoreboard. And out later, Gates delivered a sharp single through the box to plate two and give the hosts a 3-2 advantage.

The situation nor the opportunity altered the lead-off hitter's approach.

"Honestly, my approach is I just hope the next person can get an at-bat as well, so I'm just trying to pass the bat, whatever I can do," Gates said. "All I'm thinking is base hit up the middle, just cause some chaos off the field. I wouldn't be in that situation without my team.

"It's just driving it up the middle, hard hit, trying to put the ball in play. I know my teammates have my back and they're all fast out there, so if I can put the ball in play, that's all I'm trying to do."

The Aztecs came back with a two-run homer from Jillian Celis in the top of the third to regain the lead, but the Rams tied it up in the bottom half as Ashley York tripled and scored on a Danielle Serna sacrifice fly.

The game was still knotted at 4-all when the Rams put together a promising fifth, again loading the bases with no one out as Peyton Allen and Serna were both hit by pitches with a York single sandwiched between. But promise turned sour as the Aztecs recorded two quick outs, Cook's at-bat a definite carrying the weight of a definite momentum swing.

And the gates blew open for the Rams as Cook delivered a bases-clearing double to right center and a lead the team would never relinquish.

A perfect two-for-one swing: Her team elated; the other side deflated.
"Anybody who can get a two-out RBI, it's a great feeling, but you can hear our dugout, hear our energy and everyone is pulling for everyone," Cook said. "As soon as those happen, it's super cool to see. They are a killer, and they are great for our offense. I think we're stringing together this year."

The Rams finished with nine hits, with York the only one with two, scoring three times and adding a stolen base. Allen added an RBI double in the sixth, and when an error came on her stolen base, Allen was able to score. Serna added her second run-producing hit with a double to left to cap the scoring.

What the Rams would like to avoid is the free passes yielded by pitchers leading to runs. The Aztecs took three free passes and plated them, and Serna was able to wiggle out of one when she walked the first batter of the seventh but came back with a double play.

"We've talked a lot about that. We've talked about trying to attack more and decrease those walks," CSU coach Jen Fisher said. "We've also talked about, and Coach (Shana) Easley brought it up, as much as we don't want to be in that situation, we really have bowed our necks and tried to get out of those situations."

Good defense helps, and York's diving catch coming in from center in the fourth – following a walk -- helped keep the Aztecs from building a threat. Serna picked up the win in relief of Sydney Hornbuckle, who threw the first four frames.

To the team, it just felt like the perfect inning. Clutch at the plate and in the field, there's not better way to break in a new home. Which is what Bohlender said it felt like. And every new home has highlight features, Friday's being the new dugouts – with heaters – to help keep the team hot.

"That's for all the people who have worked so hard on this project. Our facilities crew … We've been talking about it all week," Fisher said. "We just wanted to play hard and put our best foot forward and make sure we were representing the Ram family to the best of our ability. I thought we did that well. I think last year, a team having a first inning like we had would have been pretty down, but we got right back into it."

The three-game set continues the next two days, with Saturday's first pitch set for 1 p.m., Sunday's at noon.

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