Colorado State softball faced Weber State at home Saturday for the first of the two-day series. The Rams split the doubleheader, winning game one 11- 7 and losing game two 9-7. The depth of the Rams’ young roster showed a glimpse of promise.
First-year Kyra Smith topped the roster with five total RBI and hit a home run in game one.
“I feel really good,” Smith said. “I feel I have a lot of confidence right now, I know that whatever they throw like I can hit it.”
WSU hit a home run of their own during the sixth inning, and CSU followed with Smith’s home run down the right-field line which batted in two runners.
This was a huge momentum swing for the Rams as the previous inning had been shut down following Autumn Rutherford’s outing following a three-base run. What started off as a chirpy WSU dugout soon was silenced.
The young Ram team’s confidence is growing; coming into Saturday’s doubleheader, the Rams were 7-12.
Coach Jen Fisher has seen the benefit of having a deep and developing roster firsthand.
“It’s been really nice,” Fisher said. “I think that you know, (Reagan Wick) and (Giselle Bentley) especially, kind of give quite a different look with their handedness. And then, you know, (Delaney Saugstad) is a lot more up. I think we’re trying to diversify. And I think the pitchers have been — they keep coming back, working hard every single week.”
Bentley started for the majority of game one, subbed out in the fourth, and was subbed back in the sixth inning only to strike out the Wildcats batter — sealing game one. Wick then started game two for the Rams and had four strikeouts.
Freshman Clarissa Castillo, who was a backup for game one, stepped up and batted in a runner in the second inning of game two, sparking a Rams score lead. Castillo showed a glimpse of the young developing team.
The day started slow for both teams but later ramped up during the fifth inning of game one. It all heated up once WSU got on the board with two runs and the Rams suddenly moved forward to five runs. With all bases loaded for almost the entire bottom inning, sophomore Jailey Wilson hit a triple and batted in three runs.
The team fed off of this momentum and each other.
“I think we’re just a really hyped team in general,” Wilson said. “So I think just our energy carries over from one game.”
Despite the loss in game two, the Rams defense held on to the lead up until the fifth inning. A learning curve was shown in game two of Saturday’s matchup for the Rams. However, the young squad could be starting to take shape.
“We’ve been working on trying to play good defense, and I thought we did a good job with that too,” Fisher said.
The Rams’ focus is now on the second day of the two-day series vs. Weber State game two — where they hope to continue to keep up the energy through the fourth match.
“Never try to make it too big or never try to get like too into your head,” Wilson said. “Just always have fun, try not to make the biggest deal of a lot of things, And I think if you do that, we’ll be just fine.”
The Rams are set to take on the Wildcats for day two Sunday in Fort Collins.
“I think we’ve seen all their pitchers, so I think we know who throws what at this point,” Wilson said. “I think that we’ll be able to adjust.”
Reach Aron Medrano at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @CSUCollegian.
