Colorado State was mercy-ruled after five innings, losing to San Diego State 10-2.
The Rams struggled to put up runs against the Aztecs. CSU only had one scoring play in the entire game, coming from a Jordan West opposite-field home run that brought in two runs in the third inning.
Aztecs pitcher Grace Uribe kept the Rams on the ground, not allowing many hits to go in the outfield. Uribe was able to get the Rams to hit ground balls that turned into easy outs for the Aztec fielders who were able to make easy force outs at first keeping the Rams from creating scoring opportunities.
“You have good hits but sometimes they result in outs,” Brooke Bohlender said. “I had a great hit up the middle and then they turned to a double play. Like there’s nothing you can do about that. And yeah, we had a lot of hard hits, but sometimes you just can’t control where it lands.”
The Rams totaled four hits all game while the Aztecs racked up 13. SDSU was able to go deep into their lineup every inning, forcing the Ram pitchers to face the heart of the hitting order. Two of SDSU batters were able to get four at-bats in the short game while the Rams had a few batters only make it to the batter’s box once.
“I think Reagan did a fantastic job just because of how much they had to see her,” Bohlender said. “Because usually when you see a picture that many times it’s easier. You know what they’re going to throw. Reagan did a really good job, and Giselle did a good job, like changing that look too. So honestly, I think we did the best we could. I think our pitchers were working really hard, especially with the top four and minimizing their hits.”
A large factor for SDSU being able to go deep into innings was the slip ups by the Rams while the ball was in play. Several times, CSU players either dropped balls when trying to force outs or the players would over run the ball when trying to pick it up. Minor mistakes added up to a more lopsided game.
“I mean, they’re good hitting team, they’re hitting the ball hard, so we just knew we had to keep the ball in front of us as best as we could,” Morgan Coleman said. “And yeah, they put the ball in play a lot. They’re not very passive, so just keeping the ball in front and hoping we knock everything down.”
With this game, SDSU handed CSU its ninths loss in the conference season. Despite what the record says on paper, the Rams still feel good about what they’ve done this season. The Rams roster is made mainly of first-years and sophomores, and even though the underclassman don’t have as much experience as the seniors they still have contributed this season.
Players like Kyra Smith and Lauren Stucky have been a bright spot in the CSU lineup. Stucky, a redshirt freshman, has been batting with a .328 average, while Smith, a true freshman, has been hitting a .295 average. The performance of these underclassmen have helped the Rams stay optimistic despite the losing record.
“Every time we go into a game, I feel confident that if we play our best, I think we can (win),” coach Jen Fisher said. “We can definitely hold our own and it’s only going to get better with these younger players and the experience they’ve gotten.”
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