Colorado State softball’s victory in last weekend’s series against San Jose State ended bittersweet as the Rams fell short in the final game, ending their historic win streak at 20 games.
The action began Friday as the Rams took the field ready to build on their 18-game win streak. Through two innings, both teams remained scoreless.
Sophomore Tara Shadowen scored the first run of the game with a solo shot in the top of the third inning, giving the Rams the lead at 1-0.
The Spartans regained control with two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. The Spartans 2-1 lead didn’t last long as the Rams put together a solid fifth inning to take it back.
The Rams strung together multiple hits and added four more runs to make the game 5-2. The Rams kept the Spartans off the board in the sixth and seventh in to finish the game. This extended the Rams’ win streak to 19.
Game two kicked off Saturday. Senior Bridgette Hutton took the mound in another important game for the Rams. Not only was it to keep the overall win streak alive, but the conference win streak alive as well.
Runs were hard to come by in this match up. The Rams managed to push a run across in the second inning to take the lead at 1-0. They added another run in the fourth inning to extend their lead to 2-0.
While the offense was doing all they could to build a lead, Hutton remained in control of the Spartans throughout the game. The Spartans scored one run in the seventh inning, but their late rally wasn’t enough.
The Rams ended the game with a 2-1 victory. Great pitching and gritty at bats helped the Rams make their win streak an even 20.
In the final game of the weekend series, the Rams looked to extend their win streak to 21.
The Spartans jumped out to an early lead in the first inning. They posted three runs to put the Rams on their heels. CSU struggled to put together runs early in the game. They were held scoreless through three innings until they got a spark in the fourth.
Senior Lauren Buchanan drove in a run with a double. The Spartans led 3-1 but the Rams were back on track. After a clean inning on defense, the Rams added another run in the fifth with a sac fly.
Trailing by a run with two innings to work with, the Rams were unable to bring any runs across and their 20-game win streak came to an end.
After almost a month and a half (42 days) of perfection, the Rams showed that they are mortal. But a 20-game win streak is an incredible feat and this loss doesn’t mean the season is over. In fact, with 14 games remaining, the Rams have what it takes to go on and win the Mountain West Conference.
The Rams will take the field again April 12 at Ram Field at 4 p.m.
Junior Guerrero can be reached at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @juniorg45.
