Preview: @bearssoftball Looks For a Different Result against CSU in Greeley

Tuesday, April 3

Greeley, CO

4 pm

University of Northern Colorado

Colorado State

Photo by: Dean Popejoy

4/2/2018 3:01:00 PM | Softball

Northern Colorado hosts Colorado State for a one game series on Tuesday

By: Matthew Kushar, UNCBears.com

GREELEY, Colo.- Northern Colorado will conclude its seven game home stand on Tuesday afternoon, when they host Colorado State for one game.

UNC (22-17, 4-2) is coming off of a 2-1 series win over Southern Utah this past weekend, where the team put up 30 runs on 30 hits. The Bears have already surpassed its win total from last season and Head Coach Shana Easley will finish this season with the most wins during her tenure at UNC.

The lineup for the Bears had a strong 21 to seven, strikeout-to-walk-ratio against Southern Utah to help generate their offense.

Lauren Paige continued her strong offensive performance this season with a pair of home runs against the Thunderbirds, while batting .500 with five RBIs. On the season, Paige leads the team with a .337 batting average and also leads the team with 28 walks. Paige ranks first in the Big Sky with a .514 on-base percentage and strike-out-to-walk ratio with a 6.20 figure.

Mady Young lead UNC in RBIs over the weekend with six and also recorded a .455 batting average. In the game one of the double-header against Southern Utah, Young hit her first career home run as a Bear with a three-run blast to break the game open for UNC. Young has a .278 average and 22 RBIs in her freshman campaign.

Madi Schmidt led UNC over the weekend with a .667 average, including a triple and three runs scored, with one RBI. Schmidt has a .310 average and a team-best, three triples this season.

Kaley Garcia has been a consistent performer for the Bears all season, with a .286 average, 20 RBIs, and a team leading 11 doubles. Garcia hit .500 against Southern Utah, with two doubles and two RBIs.

Valerie Vidal picked up her 14^th and 15^th wins on the season against Southern Utah. Vidal ranks first in the Big Sky and 12^th in the nation in victories. Vidal also leads the Big Sky in strikeouts with 104 and that figure is also good for 69^th in the nation.

Northern Colorado will have an opportunity to show its improvement from the beginning of the season with another matchup against Colorado State.

Scouting Colorado State
UNC faced CSU in Fort Collins earlier this season, with the Rams topping the Bears 9-4. Valerie Vidal took the loss and was tagged with five earned runs in five innings of work. Lauren Paige and Emma Brockmann both recorded multi-hit games, with Brockmann also adding two RBIs.

CSU has an 18-10 record coming into the game against the Bears and recently earned a 2-1 series win against Kansas. The Rams are 3-3 in the Mountain West with a 2-1 series win against Nevada and a 1-2 series loss against Fresno State. CSU is 4-5 away from Fort Collins this season.

Junior infielder Sarah Muzik leads the Rams in batting with a .442 average and has scored a team high 26 runs. Sophomore infielder Corina Gamboa has provided the power for the CSU lineup with seven home runs and 24 RBIs to lead the team. Junior Bridgette Hutton has been the go-to pitcher for the Rams this season with a 10-5 record, a 2.55 ERA in 112.1 innings pitched. Hutton has recorded 78 strikeouts to 59 walks on the season.

Following the Bears
Northern Colorado will play Colorado State on Tuesday April 3rd at 4 P.M. (MT) at Gloria Rodriguez Field. Live stats for the game will be available on UNCBears.com and follow the action on Twitter with @bearssoftball.