May 6, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Game 48 & 49 | Colorado State vs. BYU (dh)
May 8, 2008 | Fort Collins, Colo. | 1:30 p.m. MT / 3:30 p.m. MT
Game 50 | Colorado State vs. Utah
May 9, 2008 | Fort Collins, Colo. | 3 p.m. MT
Game 51 | Colorado State vs. Utah
May 10, 2008 | Fort Collins, Colo. | 12 p.m. MT
This Week...
Colorado State wraps up its conference schedule this week at Ram Field in Fort Collins. The Rams host BYU on Thursday for a doubleheader with the Cougars. First pitch is set for 1:30 p.m. MT followed by a tentative 3:30 p.m. start for the second game. Colorado State will then host Utah for games Friday and Saturday against the Utes with the first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m. MT Friday and 12 p.m. MT Saturday.
Senior Day...
Saturday will mark the last time that seniors Lauren Cusick, Julia Kloppe and Cayte Billman will play at Ram Field. All three players have played important roles for the Rams and will be recognized before the game against Utah on Saturday.
Player of the Week...
Colorado State sophomore Rebecca Penland was named MWC Player of the Week this week. Penland, from Riverside, Calif., led the Rams to a 2-2 record last week against San Diego State and UNLV. She finished the weekend with a .500 batting average (7-for-14), recorded a double, and had a home run with five RBI and two runs scored. She also had a .786 slugging percentage and .563 on-base percentage. In game two of the doubleheader against the Aztecs, Penland recorded the only two RBI for the Rams on her two-out double to center field. She finished 2-for-3 in the first game against UNLV with an RBI and a run scored and 3-for-5 in the second game with two RBI and a run scored. In MWC play, Penland is batting .367 with six doubles, a home run and 10 RBI. This is the first time Penland has been given the award.
Last Week...
The Rams closed their conference road schedule last weekend against conference foes San Diego State and UNLV. Colorado State dropped two close decisions to SDSU on Friday, losing 2-1 and 3-2, but bounced back on Saturday and Sunday, posting 14-6 and 13-11 victories against UNLV.
About BYU...
The BYU Cougars travel to Fort Collins Thursday with a 38-17 overall record and an 11-5 MWC record. Offensively, the Cougars are led by Daniela Snow who boasts a .414 batting average with 19 doubles and 16 home runs. She also has recorded 58 RBI with 39 runs scored. In the circle, BYU is led by Christina Trice who is 16-6 on the season with a 1.53 ERA in 155.2 innings pitched. She has struck out 210 batters while surrendering only 68 walks.
About Utah...
The Utah Utes bring a 28-23 overall record to Fort Collins this weekend with a 10-6 MWC record. Kara Foster leads the team with a .345 batting average in 50 starts. She has recorded nine doubles, two triples and 16 home runs with 37 RBI and 32 runs scored. Ashley Smuda leads the Utes in the circle with an 18-11 record and a 2.61 ERA in 204 innings pitched. She has 188 strikeouts on the season with 95 walks.
The Big Six...
Offensively, Colorado State boasts an impressive team batting average (.312) and has recorded a team slugging percentage of .523 on the season. Six Rams (Lauren Cusick, Caitlan Stem, Ashley Munoz, Allison Majam, Julia Kloppe and Rebecca Penland) are leading the way, currently batting over .300, with Cusick (.403) in second place in the MWC. Those six players have accounted for 75 percent (186 of 248) of the team's RBI and are also responsible for 77.8 percent (49 of 63) of the team's home runs.
Yori's Coaching Milestones...
Head Coach Mary Yori, who earlier this season coached in her 1,000th-career game (vs. Utah State, March 8) and won her 200th game at CSU (vs. Texas - San Antonio, Feb. 15), coached in the 400th game of her career at CSU in Game 1 against BYU on April 4. Yori enters Thursday's game vs. BYU with a career record of 677-354 (.657) and is 218-196 (.527) at CSU.
Kiss it Goodbye...
Colorado State is currently in second place in the MWC with 63 home runs. That mark places the Rams fourth in the nation on the home runs per game chart behind Arizona, Arizona State and Jacksonville State. Senior Lauren Cusick has the conference lead and leads the team with 18 home runs. She surpassed Ashley Munoz's record 14 single-season homers earlier this season against UNLV in Game 2 of the televised doubleheader. Cusick also surpassed former Ram Brittany Huerta for the top spot on the all-time home run chart at Colorado State two days later against No. 19/20 San Diego State. Cusick now has 36 career home runs.
Two-Out Rally...
As a team, Colorado State is batting at a .308 clip this season with two outs and 42.7 percent (106 of 248) of the team's RBI this season have come with two outs in an inning. Freshman Caitlan Stem leads the team with a .500 average (19-for-38) in two-out situations. She is followed by senior Lauren Cusick with a .410 (16-for-37) average. Stem has also recorded 18 of her 38 RBI with two outs while Cusick has recorded nine of her 37 RBI with two outs.
Score Some More...
Through 47 games, Colorado State's offense ranks 17th in the country, averaging 5.79 runs per contest. The Rams scored 30 runs in four games this past weekend against the Aztecs and Rebels. In those four games the Rams hit six doubles and five home runs and recorded 36 overall hits. On the season, Colorado State has scored 279 runs on 412 hits. The Rams also have 82 doubles on the season and 63 home runs, which places them second in the MWC.
In the Record Books...
The 2008 squad is closing in on several single-season CSU records. As a team the Rams are currently in the top spot with a .523 slugging percentage, surpassing the 2004 squad with a .521 slugging percentage. They are also in third place in batting average with a .312, just .015 points behind the 2004 squad that sits in first place. Colorado State, which has hit 63 homers in 47 games, sits in the second spot all-time behind last year's team that hit 78 homers.
Cusick on the Charts...
Senior Lauren Cusick has already surpassed teammate Ashley Munoz with 18 single-season home runs, and former Ram Brittany Huerta for the all-time home run record with 36, but she is also in position to break more single-season and career records before her senior season is complete. She is currently in second place with 58 runs scored on the season and needs just three more to surpass former Ram Jennifer Buford (1997) for the record. Cusick also needs five more doubles to surpass her former teammate Jessica Strickland (2005) for the top spot. In her career at Colorado State, Cusick has 206 starts and 206 games played and only needs three more to surpass Kerry Farrell (2002-05) and Stephanie Roberts (2002-05), who each have 208 games started and games played in their career.
Power top to bottom...
This season has been one of the most dominant offensive performances by a CSU team in school history, as the Rams have racked up 63 home runs in just 43 games. Twelve players have hit home runs for Colorado State this season, led by senior Lauren Cusick's school-record 18. No other team in the Mountain West Conference has had more than 10 players homer this season. BYU, New Mexico and UNLV rank second with 10 players homering, while Utah (8) and San Diego State (6) rank last in the conference.
Team National Rankings...
As of statistics released May 4 by the NCAA, the CSU softball team ranked among the Top 25 programs in the country in several categories, including:
Home runs per game: 4th (1.34)
Doubles per game: 8th (1.74)
Slugging percentage: 9th (.523)
Scoring; 12th (5.94)
Batting average: 21st (.312)
Individual National Rankings...
As of statistics released May 4 by the NCAA, Colorado State senior Lauren Cusick ranked in the Top 25 in several categories, including:
Runs per game: 2nd (1.23)
Home runs per game: 4th (0.38)
Slugging percentage: 6th (.862)
Home runs: T-7th (18)
