Colorado State University softball took a break from their current tear through Mountain West opposition to take a quick trip to the University of Northern Colorado Tuesday afternoon. The Rams looked to keep their impressive 14 game win streak alive, and that’s exactly what they did.

UNC is going through a pretty rough year. The Bears have a record of 5-25 and have lost five of their last six games. But they are a dangerous team, as they have nothing to lose. The Rams were well aware of their record but knew they couldn’t take them lightly.

In the first two innings of the contest, both teams failed to score any runs. It looked like a pitchers duel from the very start. In order to win the game, each team needed to grind out each at-bat and take full advantage of opportunities with runners in scoring position.

The Bears were the first team to get on the board in the third inning. The Rams failed to score in the third inning and were down 1-0 halfway through the game. Both teams failed to score in the fourth inning and the game remained 1-0.

After keeping the Bears off the scoreboard in the top of the fifth inning, the Rams were in desperate need of a spark to get them back into the game. The Rams were able to manufacture a run via sac fly from sophomore Tara Shadowen. The score was knotted up 1-1 after five innings.

The Bears came back in the sixth inning with another run of their own, making the score 2-1. The Rams went scoreless in the sixth inning. If the Rams wanted to win this game, they were going to have to do it in comeback fashion.

With only three outs to play, the Rams were in desperation mode. They needed a run by any means necessary, and that’s exactly what they got.

Junior Ashley Ruiz came in clutch with an RBI single to tie the game at 2. The Rams held the Bears in check in the bottom of the seventh and pushed the game into extra innings.

With momentum from the seventh inning, the Rams were able to put two more runs on the board in the eighth. Haley Donaldson and Corina Gamboa came up huge with an RBI double each to extend the lead to 4-2.

The Rams were three outs away from completing the comeback and leaving Greeley with a gritty victory in extra innings. The Bears had other ideas. UNC tried to complete a comeback of their own in the eighth inning.

One run came across, making the game 4-3 Rams. Things were getting scary, but the Rams found a way to close the game.

The Rams remained resilient throughout the entire game and came out victorious. The game may have not gone the way the Rams wanted it to, but they still won. This victory extended the Rams’ win streak to an impressive 15 games.  

“I was happy with out patience at the plate and happy how we came back twice,” Head Coach Jen Fisher said in a press release. “I am happy that we were able to sneak out of here with a win.”

This season is one for the books for the Rams and they are nowhere near finished.

The Rams resume conference play March 29 against Utah State. The first game of the series will take place at 4 p.m. on Ram Field.

Junior Guererro can be reached at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @juniorg45.