Picking up where they left off last season, Colorado State softball took care of business while in the Lone Star State this weekend in their first taste of spring ball.

The Rams participated in five games in the 2020 Texas Classic held in Austin, Texas, at Red & Charline McCombs Field, and they ended the Texas Classic tournament with a record of 4-1. The defense was a strong suit for Colorado State and will help the team to an impressive standing in the Mountain West Conference despite some setbacks.

“I was actually really happy with our pitching. I think offensively we’re always going to have to be patient. That’s just the way offense is. It comes in streaks, and with a powerful team like we have, there’s going to be lulls when you’re just going to be missing or be a little early. You’re always going to have to be patient.” – Head Coach Jen Fisher 

The Rams emerged victorious after their first three games against Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, the University of Maryland and Lamar University, and pitching was a key part of it. The Rams’ 3-0 start marks the second time the team has hit the mark under Fisher and the first since the 2018 season. Game one of the season against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi marked a special day for Austin native Danielle Serna, as the freshman pitcher got her first collegiate start in her hometown. 

“Serna is a freshman out of Austin,” Fisher said before the tournament. “She’s very talented (and a) really great all-around player. She pitches really well and is a great defender, and we expect her to be an impact player for us during the next four years.”

Proving coach Fisher right, Serna dominated in the pitching circle against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and earned her first collegiate shutout as the Rams edged the Islanders 1-0.

Jessica Jarecki, a senior pitcher, also shone on the mound and threw 10 strikeouts against the University of Maryland Terrapins, a career-high as a Ram.

Corina Gamboa, a senior third baseman, maintained an impressive .429 batting average throughout the weekend. Gamboa was on fire in the box and tallied up four doubles in six hits.

Ashley Ruiz, a senior first baseman, dominated in the box this weekend. In 13 at-bats, she had four hits, four RBIs and a home run. Her home run helped lead the Rams to a victory against Wichita State University.

Ashley Ruiz with a little blooper pushes two runs across!

Shockers 0 // Rams 2
BOT 1 pic.twitter.com/1ueiHcgSmH

— Colorado State Softball (@CSUSoftball) February 9, 2020

The Rams met their match by the fourth game against the University of Texas. The Longhorns are ranked No. 6 in the NCAA and emphasized the struggles that CSU faced. The Rams battled a shutout until the fifth inning when they scored three runs. Unfortunately, it was not enough to pull out a victory since they had previously allowed the Longhorns to lead them by 12 runs.

“The thing we have to do is clean up the defense,” Fisher said. “We’ve had some miscues. That’s the thing I think will help us stay in ballgames. I think we can pitch, and I think our offense is going to come in streaks, but we’ve got to play defense. We made several miscues in the last couple of days, so that’s the thing we most need to work on.”

Despite Saturday’s struggles, the Rams jumped on Wichita State early in the last game and came out on top with an 8-6 victory. The Rams kept the Shockers at bay for the first two innings but allowed them to score four runs at the beginning of the third inning. This did not seem to bother the Rams, though. They continued to play hard and racked up another two runs throughout the rest of the game and defeated the Shockers.

This win puts the Rams in a three-way tie for the No. 1 spot in the Mountain West Conference for overall records with San Diego State University and Boise State University, though conference play won’t start until March. The Rams take on another tournament on Feb. 13 in the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

Savvy Rafkin can be reached at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @SavvyCollegian.