The Colorado State University softball team was haunted by woes on the road once again this weekend as they suffered a series sweep at the hands of the Bulldogs of California State University, Fresno.

After their first away win of the regular season against the University of Northern Colorado last week, it felt like this team had finally broken their curse on the road and went into this series with optimism. However, Fresno’s sweep of the Rams marks the third consecutive instance this season wherein CSU failed to win a single game in an away series against a conference opponent. 

In the first matchup of the series April 22, the Rams made a statement in the first inning with an efficient offensive burst. The Rams fired up the bats for four hits that turned into three runs and gave CSU a 3-0 lead after one inning. Whatever offense was present in the first inning, however, was not seen again for the remainder of the matchup. 

After the Bulldogs made it 3-1 on a wild pitch from Julia Cabral, the Fresno State team had an offensive explosion in the third inning, scoring four runs to take a 5-3 lead. CSU got one back in the fifth but only managed to record three hits after that offensive burst in the first inning. Fresno State ended up taking game one with a final score of 6-4.

The second matchup followed a similar pattern. The Rams took an early lead, posting one run in the first inning and another in the second to make it a 2-0 ballgame going into the third. Again, it only took one inning for the Bulldogs to overcome the deficit after a burst of offense in the fourth inning produced three runs, which saw the Bulldogs take the lead at 3-2. 

The Rams fell into the same offensive lull that they did in game one and only managed to record two hits for the rest of the game after recording three in the first two innings. It seemed like there might be a sliver of hope for the Rams after Danielle Serna homered in the final inning, but the rest of the team couldn’t rally, and the game ended 4-3 in favor of the Bulldogs.

In the final game of the series, the Rams played like they had something to prove. After going down two runs in the second inning, the Rams fought back to even the score at the top of the fourth inning. However, Fresno State responded with two runs of their own in the same inning to make it 4-2 halfway through the game. 

The Rams managed to register 11 hits during the game, their highest total of the series, but those hits failed to translate into runs, and the CSU team once again deflated late and ended up having to eat the 6-3 loss. 

.@BrookeBohlender led us in game three against Fresno State, finishing 4-for-4, with two RBI and a double!

We’re back at Ram Field against Nevada next weekend! #MakingHerMark

📝 https://t.co/G8kDXgjyf1 pic.twitter.com/yvbmlhk4Rn

— Colorado State Softball (@CSUSoftball) April 24, 2022

The Rams now own a 1-12 away record this season, but they’ll get a reprieve from the road this week and look to churn out some positive results when the University of Nevada, Reno comes to Fort Collins.

CSU will have a home series against the Wolf Pack with games on April 29, 30 and May 1. After that, it’s one more road trip against the University of Nevada, Las Vegas before the Rams end their regular season with a home series against Boise State University.

Reach Bailey Shepherd at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @B_Sheps.