Sunday, April 13, 1997

FORT COLLINS-- The 16th-ranked Colorado State University softball team swept Western Athletic Conference rival University of New Mexico 5-3 and 11-2 today at Ram Field - a doubleheader originally scheduled for yesterday.

The win improves Colorado State's record to 36-9, 13-3 in the WAC, while New Mexico falls to 12-31, 2-16 in the conference. The Rams have now swept the season series from the Lobos and have won seven straight versus UNM.

Former Poudre High School standout Bernadette Lamb hit her second homer of the year in the second inning to get the Rams on the board in game one. Colorado State added four more runs in the third, two coming on a Sarah Fredstrom single. Alyson Carter also added an RBI single and Kelley Spence scored on a throwing error for the Rams' fifth run of the game.

Colorado State pitcher Nikki Johnson had a perfect game through five innings before giving up a leadoff single to the Lobos' Suzanne Dow in the sixth. Joy Hannifin followed with an RBI double and later scored on a passed ball. Jackie Van Hooydonk drew a two-out walk then stole her way to third before scoring on a Marnie Hill single. UNM's Danielle Cassara then lined out to end the threat.

The Lobos threatened again in the seventh with Melissa Krolik leading off with a single. Dow doubled to right, after Jennifer Haley struck out, to put the tying run in scoring position. The Rams' Amber Solano then made a spectacular catch of a Hannifin fly ball in center field and doubled off Dow at second base to end the game.

Johnson increased her school season-record win total in improving to 23-4. The senior from Denver struck out nine and walked just one in raising her WAC-leading strikeout total to 189 in 176.1 innings.

In game two, the Rams pounded out 11 hits and took advantage of three Lobo errors to win their second straight game. Last Sunday, Colorado State had its school-record 18-game winning streak snapped in the second half of a doubleheader at Nevada Las Vegas - giving Colorado State 20 wins in its last 21 contests.

Lamb hit another home run in the second game and Jennifer Buford was 2 for 4 with three RBI. The Rams pushed across nine runs in the second inning to give Erin Bennett all the cushion she needed. Bennett won her sixth straight start to improve to 10-5 on the season. Buford also hit safely in both games to improve her hitting streak to 13 games - a team season high.

The win brings Colorado State within one of the team season record of 37 set in 1989. At 36-9, the Rams are off to the best start in school history, topping the 1989 squad's mark of 33-12 after 45 games. Colorado State's 13-3 start in WAC play is its best in school history. The Rams need just three more wins in their final 14 WAC games to match the school record for conference wins set last year.

Colorado State resumes conference play when it heads to Honolulu for a pair of WAC doubleheaders against Hawaii on Friday and Saturday. Both doubleheaders are scheduled for 1 p.m. MDT.