Colorado State University Athletics
Friday, April 28
Fort Collins, CO
4:00 PM
Colorado State
24-17, 0
7
vs
6
Fresno State
20-26, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
R
H
E
Fresno State
1
0
0
3
0
2
0
0
6
6
2
Colorado State
0
1
0
3
0
2
0
1
7
14
1
Gates delivers in extras to pull out win
4/28/2023 7:48:00 PM | Softball
The transferee continues to make noise for the Rams
By: Evan Liu
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The gates guarding victory are tough to open. Friday evening's affair between the Colorado State Rams and Fresno State Bulldogs was no different at Ram Field.
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Molly Gates drove in the winning run with a bloop RBI single up the middle in the eighth inning to deliver a 7-6 win. It's the first walk-off win in the conference slate, and the second walk-off of the season at a vital time.
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"I wouldn't consider myself the hero," Gates said. "In that moment, I just took it in because it was so incredible with the crowd cheering. The team had my back, and it was just a cool opportunity to be in that position."
Â
Gates ended the day 2-for-5 at the plate with the winning RBI, her only one of the day. Offensive was plentiful up and down the lineup for the Rams as a whole.
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Colorado State went 14-for-38 at bat, hitting .368 as a team on Fresno State's pitching. The star at the plate was Kaitlyn Cook, who went 3-for-4 with two runs from the seven-hole in the lineup.
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"Today our team was just feeling it," Cook said. "It's been so long since we've been home, and to have a home crowd and feel the energy is what you dream of. I'm happy it showed up today."
Â
"Overall, our offense was just kicking," Cook said. "We talk about working the cut and waiting for the big blow. We were staying with it all game and it showed up at the end."
Â
The entire offense found plenty of action with four players having multi-hit games, including Ashley York who carried one out of the yard in the fourth inning to straightaway center field.
Â
Most of the damage came with plenty of opportunities along with the Rams having their back to the wall. They went 6-for-19 with runners on base, 3-for-10 with runners in scoring position, and 5-for-12 with two outs in the inning, with top efficiency coming from the bottom half of the order.
Â
"We've worked really hard all year working on two strikes and not giving up, sometimes we hit better with two strikes than with less than two," head coach Jen Fisher said. "The two out approach is the same as well. Just pass the bat, we don't have to do anything big, just small. We've really been living by that so I'm proud of them."
Â
Defensively, the Rams were on top of it as well. Cook again was a major part of the action, trying to draw a couple of double plays, with six assists on outs.
Â
She was also on the receiving end of a bullet of a line drive at a crucial time in the seventh inning. While she couldn't finish off the double play, in a tied game, it caught everyone's attention in what is her final home series.
Â
"We came off the field after she caught that rocket and just said, 'how can you not want to win this game right now for Cook,'" Fisher said. "She is a woman among girls, that's why they call her mother goose! She's wonderful, she's a quintessential Ram."
Â
"I was just simplifying it," Cook said. "This game can get big, and just simplifying it to bat and ball, counting the hops, and just tracking it all the way to the glove."
Â
The Rams and Bulldogs managed to go toe-to-toe throughout the game. Neither team had more than a three-run lead through the entire game. Colorado State was playing catch-up until the end and didn't lead until the walk-off by Gates. But, they did what they needed to do by matching Fresno State with a three-run fourth inning and a two-run sixth inning.
Â
"It was a big-time team effort," Fisher said. "We've been working really hard all week on offense, we swung at good pitches and hit the ball hard. Base-running was solid, it was a good team effort. It was really fun."
Â
Pitching too was something to watch for as Julia Cabral continues to get better with each outing. In her seventh start, she managed to go 3.1 innings with 46 pitches, but did give up two home runs and two hit-by-pitches.
Â
Sydney Hornbuckle came in in relief during the fourth inning, managing 4.2 innings with only two runs in a 72-pitch outing. Both did their part in the victory while also managing themselves too.
Â
"I thought they did great, we got quick innings out of Julia while keeping her pitch count down," Fisher said. "It was really a good outing for her. She came out of it pretty decently in one of the longer games she's had for the year. She made Syd more effective and makes her teammates better."
Â
Of course, both the Rams and Bulldogs are in the thick of the standings for the Mountain West as the regular season comes towards its conclusion. It was going to be a big game and a big series regardless of the result for either team.
Â
With the win, Colorado State moves to 24-17 overall, and an even 8-8 in the conference while now only one game behind Fresno State at 20-26 overall, and 9-8 in the conference. But, no one is standing-watching too closely, yet.
Â
"We're not thinking about that honestly, Gates said. "We're thinking one pitch at a time, the outcomes will come at the end. We can't control the standings and just trying to control what we can."
Â
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The gates guarding victory are tough to open. Friday evening's affair between the Colorado State Rams and Fresno State Bulldogs was no different at Ram Field.
Â
Molly Gates drove in the winning run with a bloop RBI single up the middle in the eighth inning to deliver a 7-6 win. It's the first walk-off win in the conference slate, and the second walk-off of the season at a vital time.
Â
"I wouldn't consider myself the hero," Gates said. "In that moment, I just took it in because it was so incredible with the crowd cheering. The team had my back, and it was just a cool opportunity to be in that position."
Â
Gates ended the day 2-for-5 at the plate with the winning RBI, her only one of the day. Offensive was plentiful up and down the lineup for the Rams as a whole.
Â
Colorado State went 14-for-38 at bat, hitting .368 as a team on Fresno State's pitching. The star at the plate was Kaitlyn Cook, who went 3-for-4 with two runs from the seven-hole in the lineup.
Â
"Today our team was just feeling it," Cook said. "It's been so long since we've been home, and to have a home crowd and feel the energy is what you dream of. I'm happy it showed up today."
Â
"Overall, our offense was just kicking," Cook said. "We talk about working the cut and waiting for the big blow. We were staying with it all game and it showed up at the end."
Â
The entire offense found plenty of action with four players having multi-hit games, including Ashley York who carried one out of the yard in the fourth inning to straightaway center field.
Â
Most of the damage came with plenty of opportunities along with the Rams having their back to the wall. They went 6-for-19 with runners on base, 3-for-10 with runners in scoring position, and 5-for-12 with two outs in the inning, with top efficiency coming from the bottom half of the order.
Â
"We've worked really hard all year working on two strikes and not giving up, sometimes we hit better with two strikes than with less than two," head coach Jen Fisher said. "The two out approach is the same as well. Just pass the bat, we don't have to do anything big, just small. We've really been living by that so I'm proud of them."
Â
Defensively, the Rams were on top of it as well. Cook again was a major part of the action, trying to draw a couple of double plays, with six assists on outs.
Â
She was also on the receiving end of a bullet of a line drive at a crucial time in the seventh inning. While she couldn't finish off the double play, in a tied game, it caught everyone's attention in what is her final home series.
Â
"We came off the field after she caught that rocket and just said, 'how can you not want to win this game right now for Cook,'" Fisher said. "She is a woman among girls, that's why they call her mother goose! She's wonderful, she's a quintessential Ram."
Â
"I was just simplifying it," Cook said. "This game can get big, and just simplifying it to bat and ball, counting the hops, and just tracking it all the way to the glove."
Â
The Rams and Bulldogs managed to go toe-to-toe throughout the game. Neither team had more than a three-run lead through the entire game. Colorado State was playing catch-up until the end and didn't lead until the walk-off by Gates. But, they did what they needed to do by matching Fresno State with a three-run fourth inning and a two-run sixth inning.
Â
"It was a big-time team effort," Fisher said. "We've been working really hard all week on offense, we swung at good pitches and hit the ball hard. Base-running was solid, it was a good team effort. It was really fun."
Â
Pitching too was something to watch for as Julia Cabral continues to get better with each outing. In her seventh start, she managed to go 3.1 innings with 46 pitches, but did give up two home runs and two hit-by-pitches.
Â
Sydney Hornbuckle came in in relief during the fourth inning, managing 4.2 innings with only two runs in a 72-pitch outing. Both did their part in the victory while also managing themselves too.
Â
"I thought they did great, we got quick innings out of Julia while keeping her pitch count down," Fisher said. "It was really a good outing for her. She came out of it pretty decently in one of the longer games she's had for the year. She made Syd more effective and makes her teammates better."
Â
Of course, both the Rams and Bulldogs are in the thick of the standings for the Mountain West as the regular season comes towards its conclusion. It was going to be a big game and a big series regardless of the result for either team.
Â
With the win, Colorado State moves to 24-17 overall, and an even 8-8 in the conference while now only one game behind Fresno State at 20-26 overall, and 9-8 in the conference. But, no one is standing-watching too closely, yet.
Â
"We're not thinking about that honestly, Gates said. "We're thinking one pitch at a time, the outcomes will come at the end. We can't control the standings and just trying to control what we can."
Â
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Hornbuckle, Sydney (7-5)
L: DENMAN, Shelbi (7-4)
Batting:
HR: DENBY, Alesia 1 ; HERNANDEZ, Vanessa 1 ; BUNKER, Kennedy 1
RBI: WILSON, Juliana 1 ; DENBY, Alesia 2 ; HERNANDEZ, Vanessa 1 ; BUNKER, Kennedy 2
Base Running:
RUNS: MARTINEZ, Emma 1 ; WILSON, Juliana 1 ; DENBY, Alesia 2 ; HERNANDEZ, Vanessa 1 ; BUNKER, Kennedy 1
SB: MATTSON, Keahilele 1 ; DENBY, Alesia 1
CS: TINGEY, Ava 1 ; DENBY, Alesia 1
HBP: MARTINEZ, Emma 1 ; DENBY, Alesia 1 ; BUNKER, Kennedy 1
Batting:
2B: Cook, Kaitlyn 2
HR: York, Ashley 1
RBI: York, Ashley 1 ; Gates, Molly 1 ; Nannen, Jetta 3
Base Running:
RUNS: York, Ashley 1 ; Matsubara, Maya 1 ; Serna, Danielle 1 ; Crosby, Morgan 1 ; Cook, Kaitlyn 2 ; McVay, Makenna 1
SB: Matsubara, Maya 1 ; McVay, Makenna 1
HBP: Bohlender, Brooke 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
2
H
3
RBI
0
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
5
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
P
/ SoftballINF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
P/UT
/ SoftballOF
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