Rams travel to California for San Diego Classic

Game Notes (PDF)

SAN DIEGO CLASSIC
Game 1: Rams vs. Oregon State
Friday, March 2 | 10 a.m.

Game 2: Rams at San Diego
Friday, March 2 | 5:30 p.m.

Game 3: Rams vs. Boston U
Saturday, March 3 | 12:30 p.m.

Game 4: Rams vs. CSU
Saturday, March 3 | 3 p.m.

Game 5: Rams vs. No. 20 Minnesota
Sunday, March 4 | 10 a.m.

ON DECK
Colorado State continues non-conference action this week at the San Diego Classic. The Rams will look to continue their strong start to the season after improving to 8-1 after a home opening victory over Northern Colorado on Tuesday. CSU's 8-1 start is the best since 2008 when the Rams began, 10-1.

The Rams will begin the five-game tournament with a game against Oregon State on Friday morning at 10 a.m., and versus host San Diego at 5:30 p.m. Colorado State will play two games on Saturday against Boston U at 12:30 p.m., and CSUN at 3 p.m. The Rams will finish the tournament on Sunday playing No. 20 Minnesota at 10 a.m.

"We definitely want to have a strong pitching performance this weekend," said head coach Jen Fisher. "Our pitching staff has been rolling along and has been keeping us in ball games, so we want to see all four of our pitchers have good outings. On offense, we need to prove that we can compete with these teams. Our pitchers will always throw better when our offense is having success."

OPPONENT SCOUT
The Beavers: Oregon State (10-6) has played in three tournaments so far this season. The Beavs were at the famous Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic last week and finished with a 3-2 record after picking up an upset against No. 16/18 Oklahoma State. OSU's two losses were against No. 11 Tennessee and No. 6/12 Auburn.

The Toreros: San Diego (9-8) posted a 3-2 record last week at the Gaucho Classic. The Toreros grabbed a pair of wins against Dayton and a victory over UC Santa Barbara. Kailey Hill leads the team with a .347 batting average with three home runs and 13 RBI.

The Terriers: Boston U (4-4) last competed at the Troy Cox Classic and posted a 4-4 record, which included upsetting No. 1 and two-time defended National Champions Oklahoma, 4-3. BU dropped two losses that weekend to Ball State and New Mexico State. Madi Killebrew and Ali Dubois earned Patriot League weekly honors for helping the Terries earn wins over ACC, Big 12 and Big Ten teams.

The Matadors: CSUN (6-10) played at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic last weekend and finished with a 2-3 record. The Matadors dropped their first three games, before ending the weekend with wins over LIU Brooklyn and MW foe Fresno State.

The Gophers: No. 20 Minnesota (10-4) won the Citrus Classic last weekend with a 5-0 record. The Gophers recorded a win over No. 23/13 Kentucky to start the weekend. Minnesota started the season perfect at the UNLV Classic, before dropping four games at the B1G/ACC Challenge vs. No. 8/6 Florida St. and Notre Dame.

LAST TIME OUT
Colorado State opened its home schedule on Tuesday with a 9-4 victory over Northern Colorado. The Rams played in the San Diego Classic in 2014 and weather wreak havoc forcing five games to be canceled.

SEASON OPENING RECORDS
Colorado State began the season at the Texas Classic and Head Coach Jen Fisher is now 4-4 in season openers after a season opening 4-3 victory over Wisconsin. The Rams are 6-12 in openers since 2000. CSU recorded a 14-5 victory in five innings over Maryland in 2017 in Austin.

RAMS IN NON-LEAGUE PLAY
CSU held a 19-7 mark against non-conference competition in 2017. That included a 10-3 record across the team's three home tournaments at Ram Field. It also included six wins against teams from the Big Ten or Big 12.

RAMS IN MW PLAY
CSU finished 2017 with a 9-15 mark in league play owning 2-1 series wins over San Diego State and San Jose State - who are tabbed to finish first and second in the Mountain West in 2018. Unsurprisingly, three-time all-conference shortstop Haley Hutton was a standout in league action, toting a .372/.465/.455 slash line with 32 hits and 30 runs scored in 24 games. Hannah McCorkhill had a team-leading six homers against MW foes, while Lauren Buchanan led with 20 RBI.

STALWART SHUTOUTS
The Rams had 12 shutouts on the 2017 season, which is the most the team has had since posting 14 in 2003. Larisa Petakoff and Bridgette Hutton each had four shutouts, while Kaylynn Pierce has added three. Twelve of CSU's 28 wins came in shutout fashion a season ago.

TRANSFERS MAKING A MARK
Transfer Sarah Muzik is making her mark for the Rams as the junior leads the team with a .452 batting average and .548 slugging mark, while carrying a .528 on base tick. The Hawai'i transfer also has recorded 14 hits and is 3-for-3 in stolen bases.

PETAKOFF'S PITCHING PROWESS
Redshirt senior Larisa Petakoff had a great junior season, holding the team's best ERA at 2.58 across 92.1 innings pitched. After nine games this season, she has appeared in four games, earning two wins and not allowing a run to score and just four hits.

GAMBOA HEATING UP AT THE HOT CORNER
Sophomore Corina Gamboa has established herself as a threat at third base. So far this season, Gamboa posted seven RBI in her first nine games, with three home runs. She is currently third on the team with a .393 batting average and leads the team with a .750 slugging mark.

HUTTON NAMED PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Junior Bridgette Hutton was named Mountain West Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 21. Hutton was the first CSU softball player to earn a weekly award from the conference this season. The honor was also the second of her career. The psychology major posted a 2-1 record at the Hillenbrand Invitational, including hurling two complete games and the first shutout of the season with a 5-0 win over Tory. The Platteville, Colo., native allowed just four runs in the three games she appeared in, posting a 1.56 ERA.

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