Colorado State University Athletics
Wednesday, April 8
Fort Collins, CO
11:00 AM
Colorado State
19-19, 7-6
5
vs
2
San Jose State
11-25, 3-10
1st innning1
2nd innning2
3rd innning3
4th innning4
5th innning5
6th innning6
7th innning7
RunsR
HitsH
ErrorsE
San Jose State
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
2
7
3
Colorado State
0
0
1
0
1
3
X
5
3
1
Rams Produce Needed Sweep at Home
4/8/2026 4:49:00 PM | Softball
Timely hitting backs a pair of solid pitching outings
Given a choice, a coach in the dugout will take strong pitching at the drop and do it 11 out of 10 times. Perform well in the circle, a team has a chance.
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The thing is, no matter how good the hurlers perform, at some point a team has to put runs on the board, and offense can be a fickle part of softball. During Wednesday's doubleheader with San Jose State, Colorado State proved the most effective style of hitting is that of the timely variety.
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"You just have to put them in the right spot," CSU catcher Bradie Poteet-Herrera said. "Right spot, right time."
Â
There weren't a lot of knocks by the Rams in the first game – just three – but they came at key times. That matched that in the first inning alone in the nightcap, then added another inning with multiple runs en route to a sweep of the Spartans with identical 5-2 scores.
Â
When a team is on the dividing line for the postseason, getting a sweep to move to 20-19 overall, 8-6 in league play, was paramount. To do so, the Rams needed to take advantage of the situations they had been missing during the season.
Â
"We've been leaving a lot of people on base, and … I don't hate the statistic, because I do believe you're going to leave a lot; a good offense is going to have a lot of left on base," CSU coach Jen Fisher said. "They have a lot of traffic on the bases, but we finally got to the point yesterday I said, 'we've got to have some personal responsibility here and just hit people in.' Early in the year we were getting so many hits with two outs, and it just seems like lately we just have not been getting people in, so that was a big focus of ours for sure."
Â
The pitchers – both of whom delivered complete-game efforts -- certainly deserved the support. Reagan Wick struck out six in the opener, and Giselle Bentley sat down two in her seven innings of work.
Â
Getting going at the right time falls right into Autumn Rutherford's hot zone as the sophomore heated up when Mountain West play began, elevating the temperature as of late. After hitting .291 as a true freshman a season prior, she entered league play at .182.
Â
Flip the calendar, flip the script. She's hit better than .400 in league play, with hits in nine of the past 10 games – 13 of them, in fact.- She drove in the Rams' first run in the opener with a sharp single, then delivered a two-run triple in the first of the second game to put her team in front.
Â
"I think it's a confidence piece. I definitely struggled a little bit here and there with just my overall confidence in my at-bats and in the field and just in general," Rutherford said. "I think kind of going into it, just trying to be open-minded, not letting one bad game or one bad at-bat bring me back down.
Â
"So, yeah, just maintaining that high energy, letting my teammates pick me up, and just know that every at-bat is a new one, every pitch is a new pitch. It's just coming out ready to ball out every time."
Â
Confidence is a funny thing to find when the numbers suggest to an individual it should be lagging. She was a bright spot as a freshman, taking over the leadoff spot, sparking the offense and playing stellar in center field.
Â
She asked the natural question – "why me?" – when the start of the season was not to her expectation. Then again, maybe she was putting too many on herself. She also figured teams had seen her and had a better plan.
Â
Funny thing is the team's she's tearing up right now should know her best.
Â
"I kept making jokes saying, 'well, last year I came out really hot in the tournaments and then kind of fell off in conference play. Then this year it's kind of been a switch up," she said. "I'm like, well, maybe I'm just struggling at the beginning so that I can play well during conference.
Â
"Honestly, I wouldn't say that I'm changing too much, to be honest. I'm just trying to go in with a clean mindset every time and play for my team, play for the girls."
Â
Poteet-Herrera watched the first game, catching Bentley in the second. She helped her pitcher a ton with a two-run double to extend the lead to 5-1, also gunning down a pair of base runners.
Â
Behind the dish, her role carries a two-pronged approach to aiding her pitcher, acknowledging the fact a good start in the circle creates momentum.
Â
"When I'm in the bullpen, I'm super confident in our pitchers. I see what they're doing, and they're doing amazing," she said. "That's a huge game changer for our team, especially being at home. You come out strong, top of the first, you shut down in the first inning, that's huge for our momentum, that's huge for our confidence.
Â
"Anytime that I can help … I mean, I'm a catcher, that's my job. Anytime that I can help my pitcher out, I'm 100% confident in them, and if I see an opportunity to throw somebody out, I trust in them to get the girl; I trust in my middles to handle the girl that I'm throwing out. Everything that I do as a catcher is for the benefit of my pitcher."
Â
That's at the plate, and that's everyone in the lineup. Traffic isn't just created by hits, but by drawing walks, getting hit by a pitch or via an error. When the door opens, the goal is to walk through confidently.
Â
Fisher didn't feel like her team was taking that kind of swagger to the plate recently. Thinking about too much or the wrong thing, whatever, it wasn't working. Get the bat to the ball.
Â
CSU did it with the three hits they had in the opener, the first by Rutherford with two outs. A triple by Allyson Moody to plate a run started a three-run frame, the second two scoring on sacrifice flies – no hit needed, just contact.
Â
"That's what pushes runs across, getting those walks, hit by pitches," Rutherford said. "Everything helps."
Â
Particularly timing.
Â
Â
The thing is, no matter how good the hurlers perform, at some point a team has to put runs on the board, and offense can be a fickle part of softball. During Wednesday's doubleheader with San Jose State, Colorado State proved the most effective style of hitting is that of the timely variety.
Â
"You just have to put them in the right spot," CSU catcher Bradie Poteet-Herrera said. "Right spot, right time."
Â
There weren't a lot of knocks by the Rams in the first game – just three – but they came at key times. That matched that in the first inning alone in the nightcap, then added another inning with multiple runs en route to a sweep of the Spartans with identical 5-2 scores.
Â
When a team is on the dividing line for the postseason, getting a sweep to move to 20-19 overall, 8-6 in league play, was paramount. To do so, the Rams needed to take advantage of the situations they had been missing during the season.
Â
"We've been leaving a lot of people on base, and … I don't hate the statistic, because I do believe you're going to leave a lot; a good offense is going to have a lot of left on base," CSU coach Jen Fisher said. "They have a lot of traffic on the bases, but we finally got to the point yesterday I said, 'we've got to have some personal responsibility here and just hit people in.' Early in the year we were getting so many hits with two outs, and it just seems like lately we just have not been getting people in, so that was a big focus of ours for sure."
Â
The pitchers – both of whom delivered complete-game efforts -- certainly deserved the support. Reagan Wick struck out six in the opener, and Giselle Bentley sat down two in her seven innings of work.
Â
Getting going at the right time falls right into Autumn Rutherford's hot zone as the sophomore heated up when Mountain West play began, elevating the temperature as of late. After hitting .291 as a true freshman a season prior, she entered league play at .182.
Â
Flip the calendar, flip the script. She's hit better than .400 in league play, with hits in nine of the past 10 games – 13 of them, in fact.- She drove in the Rams' first run in the opener with a sharp single, then delivered a two-run triple in the first of the second game to put her team in front.
Â
"I think it's a confidence piece. I definitely struggled a little bit here and there with just my overall confidence in my at-bats and in the field and just in general," Rutherford said. "I think kind of going into it, just trying to be open-minded, not letting one bad game or one bad at-bat bring me back down.
Â
"So, yeah, just maintaining that high energy, letting my teammates pick me up, and just know that every at-bat is a new one, every pitch is a new pitch. It's just coming out ready to ball out every time."
Â
Confidence is a funny thing to find when the numbers suggest to an individual it should be lagging. She was a bright spot as a freshman, taking over the leadoff spot, sparking the offense and playing stellar in center field.
Â
She asked the natural question – "why me?" – when the start of the season was not to her expectation. Then again, maybe she was putting too many on herself. She also figured teams had seen her and had a better plan.
Â
Funny thing is the team's she's tearing up right now should know her best.
Â
"I kept making jokes saying, 'well, last year I came out really hot in the tournaments and then kind of fell off in conference play. Then this year it's kind of been a switch up," she said. "I'm like, well, maybe I'm just struggling at the beginning so that I can play well during conference.
Â
"Honestly, I wouldn't say that I'm changing too much, to be honest. I'm just trying to go in with a clean mindset every time and play for my team, play for the girls."
Â
Poteet-Herrera watched the first game, catching Bentley in the second. She helped her pitcher a ton with a two-run double to extend the lead to 5-1, also gunning down a pair of base runners.
Â
Behind the dish, her role carries a two-pronged approach to aiding her pitcher, acknowledging the fact a good start in the circle creates momentum.
Â
"When I'm in the bullpen, I'm super confident in our pitchers. I see what they're doing, and they're doing amazing," she said. "That's a huge game changer for our team, especially being at home. You come out strong, top of the first, you shut down in the first inning, that's huge for our momentum, that's huge for our confidence.
Â
"Anytime that I can help … I mean, I'm a catcher, that's my job. Anytime that I can help my pitcher out, I'm 100% confident in them, and if I see an opportunity to throw somebody out, I trust in them to get the girl; I trust in my middles to handle the girl that I'm throwing out. Everything that I do as a catcher is for the benefit of my pitcher."
Â
That's at the plate, and that's everyone in the lineup. Traffic isn't just created by hits, but by drawing walks, getting hit by a pitch or via an error. When the door opens, the goal is to walk through confidently.
Â
Fisher didn't feel like her team was taking that kind of swagger to the plate recently. Thinking about too much or the wrong thing, whatever, it wasn't working. Get the bat to the ball.
Â
CSU did it with the three hits they had in the opener, the first by Rutherford with two outs. A triple by Allyson Moody to plate a run started a three-run frame, the second two scoring on sacrifice flies – no hit needed, just contact.
Â
"That's what pushes runs across, getting those walks, hit by pitches," Rutherford said. "Everything helps."
Â
Particularly timing.
Â
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Wick, Reagan (11-7)
L: Faus, Delaney (6-12)
Batting:
2B: Noriega, Ahmiya 1
RBI: Noriega, Ahmiya 2
SH: McDowell, Shay 1 ; Reeve, Haley 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cummings, Carly 1 ; Burdick, Sophia 1
SB: McDowell, Shay 1 ; Cummings, Carly 1
Batting:
3B: Moody, Allyson 1
RBI: Stucky, Lauren 1 ; Moody, Allyson 1 ; English, Kaylynn 1 ; Rutherford, Autumn 1 ; Wilson, Jailey 1
SF: Stucky, Lauren 1 ; English, Kaylynn 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Stucky, Lauren 1 ; Eslinger, Madi 1 ; Martinez, Jasmin 1 ; English, Kaylynn 1 ; Gonzalez, Rylee 1
HBP: Castillo, Clarissa 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
2
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
P
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
C
/ SoftballUTL
/ Softball
LHP
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Tuesday, May 14