Wednesday, April 16, 1997

RAMS REMAIN IN FIRST PLACE IN WAC... At 36-9 overall and 13-3 in the conference, Colorado State remains percentage points ahead of Fresno State in the Western Athletic Conference standings.

RAMS 16TH IN APRIL 9 POLL... The Rams are ranked 16th in the April 9 USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association Top 25 Poll. Colorado State has been ranked in the top 25 for four consecutive weeks.

RAMS COMPLETE SEASON SWEEP OF NEW MEXICO... Colorado State defeated New Mexico twice Sunday, 5-3 and 11-2, to sweep the season series from the Lobos. The Rams have now won seven straight versus UNM dating back to 1996. Senior LF Bernadette Lamb hit homers in each game to raise her season total to three. Nikki Johnson had a perfect game through five innings in the opener before giving up a leadoff single in the sixth. The Lobos pushed three runs across in the inning before Stephanie Norton snared a Danielle Cassara line drive to end the threat with the Rams leading 5-3. In the seventh, UNM's Melissa Krolik led off with a single and Suzanne Dow doubled to right with one out to put the tying run in scoring position. Amber Solano then made a spectacular catch of a Joy Hannifin fly ball and doubled Dow off of second base to end the game. Johnson increased her school season-record win total in improving to 23-4 and struck out nine to raise her WAC-leading total to 189 in 176.1 innings this season. In game two, the Rams pounded out 11 hits and took advantage of three Lobo errors to win their 20th game in 21 outings. Erin Bennett improved her record to 10-5 on the season with the win.

FREDSTOM BREAKS SEASON RBI RECORD... Junior SS Sarah Fredstrom had two RBI Sunday to eclipse her previous record of 52 set last season. The Omaha, Neb., native leads the WAC with 54 RBI, is second in doubles, tied for fourth in runs scored and triples and 12th in the conference with a .388 batting average. Fredstrom owns Colorado State career records for RBI (134), home runs (21), doubles (38) and slugging percentage (.617).

COLORADO STATE TRAVELS TO #25 HAWAII FOR WAC DOUBLEHEADERS... Colorado State heads to Honolulu for a pair of WAC doubleheaders versus #25 Hawaii Friday and Saturday. Both twin bills are scheduled to start at 1 p.m. MDT.

SOLANO SETTING THE PACE... Senior CF Amber Solano leads the Rams with a .458 average in WAC games. Over her last 13 games, she is 19-34 at the plate (.559) with 16 runs and 11 stolen bases in 12 attempts. Solano leads the WAC with 49 runs scored - a school season record - and is nint h in the conference with a .391 batting average. The Fort Collins native is also fourth in the WAC with 24 stolen bases - also a Colorado State season record and one ahead of teammate Jennifer Buford. She is one behind Buford's school record in career stolen bases with 44.

JOHNSON LEADING WAC IN FOUR CATEGORIES... In addition to owning almost every record at Colorado State, senior P Nikki Johnson is leading the conference in four categories. Her 23 wins, 189 strikeouts, 24 complete games and 176.1 innings pitched are tops in the WAC. She is also second in strikeouts per seven innings (7.50), second in appearances (31), fifth in opponent batting average (.194) and fifth in hits allowed per seven innings (5.12). Johnson holds season record for wins and strikeouts at Colorado State and career records in wins (55), strikeouts (411), games pitched (87), starts (71), complete games (70), innings pitched (532.2) and saves (3). Her 23 wins this year is sixth in the country and she is 20th in the NCAA in strikeouts per seven innings.

RAMS ONE SHY OF WIN SCHOOL RECORD... At 36-9 on the season, the Rams need just one more to tie the school record of 37 wins set in 1989. This year's team has the best record in school history at this point in the season, topping the 1989 squad's 33-12 record after 45 games. At 13-3 in the WAC, Colorado State needs just three more league wins to tie last season's school record for conference wins in a season. Earlier this season, the Rams put together a school-record 18-game winning streak. The streak stands as the longest for any sport in 104 years of athletic competition at Colorado State.

BUFORD CONTINUES HOT STREAK... Junior 2B Jennifer Buford has a current 13-game hitting streak over which she is hitting .523 (23 for 44). She also has 16 runs scored, 11 RBI and eight stolen bases in nine attempts over that span. Her hot play has carried over to the field where she has made just one error in her last 137 chances - a .993 fielding percentage. The Grand Junction native is second on the Rams with a .446 average in WAC games. Buford owns school career records of 107 runs scored and 45 stolen bases and she is third all time with a .336 batting average in just under three seasons at Colorado State.

BENNETT KEEPS WINNING... Junior P Erin Bennett picked up another win Sunday, allowing just three hits and one earned run. She has now won her last six starts, dating back to March 23. Over that span, she has allowed 29 hits in 36 innings and just four earned runs - an 0.78 ERA. For the season, Bennett is 10-5 with a 2.68 ERA, allowing 96 hits in 99.1 innings. Her ERA ranks 15th in the conference.

CARTER MAKING BIG IMPACT IN FIRST YEAR... Freshman 1B Alyson Carter leads the Rams and is fourth in the WAC with a .412 batting average. Carter is also third in hits (61) and tied for fourth in doubles (12)on the WAC charts. Only current Ram assistant coach Teri Klement has posted a higher batting average for a full season - .433 in 1989. Carter's 61 hits rank second all time behind Klement's 68 in 1989.

RAMS AMONG THE NATIONAL LEADERS... Nikki Johnson ranks sixth in the country with 23 wins and 20th with 7.50 strikeouts per seven innings. Sarah Fredstrom is eighth in the NCAA with 1.20 RBI per game in leading the Rams to top-20 marks in four team categories. Colorado State is eighth in the country with a .340 team batting average, seventh in runs scored at 6.53, eighth in winning percentage at .800 and 16th in fielding percentage at .964. Colorado State leads the WAC in runs per game and fielding percentage, is second in batting average and fourth in team ERA (2.24).

RAMS VS. THE TOP 25... Colorado State is 5-4 against teams ranked in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Top 25 Poll this season. The Rams are 1-1 vs. #15 Missouri, 2-0 vs. #12 Arizona State and 2-0 vs. #25 San Diego State. Three of Colorado State's losses have come to the top two teams in the nation in #2 Fresno State (twice) and #1 Arizona.