San Diego State (23-13) softball travels to Fort Collins to face off against Colorado State (13-22).

The Aztecs have the second-most wins so far in Mountain West play but are fourth in the standings. On Wednesday, they faced off against Fresno State in a doubleheader. The Aztecs won the first game 2-1 but dropped the second game 7-3.

Coach Stacey Nuveman-Denizs’s squad now faces off against a struggling Colorado State team.

The Rams are led by senior catcher Brooke Bohlender, sophomore infielder Kaylynn English, and sophomore LHP Reagan Wick. Senior leader Bohlender leads the Rams in batting average, hits, and doubles. Bohlender is not known for her base running prowess but more for her elite bat-to-ball skills. She is one of the more consistent batters for the Rams and is very dangerous with runners in scoring positions.

Young sophomore English owns the team lead in stolen bases and triples as well. The Aztec pitchers need to be very cautious with English, as she constantly is applying pressure when on base. The Rams’ offense has the ability to put up runs, as shown in a multitude of conference games. Earlier in the year, the Rams faced UNLV in a bloodbath ending in a UNLV win 20-19. As well as a 9-14 loss against Utah State. The Aztecs need to play fundamental defense, and the pitchers need to keep the ball in the yard at altitude.

Colorado State’s struggling pitching staff is led by young left-handed pitcher Wick.

Wick has a 4.33 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP so far this year. She is the staff’s main pitcher, as shown in her 108.1 innings pitched so far this year. Coach Jen Fisher has used four pitchers, but mainly two arms, so far in conference play. The staff has struggled as a whole during Mountain West play. This allowed a batting average of .356 with a 7.57 ERA and allowed over two runners to reach base per inning.

The Aztec offense has been struggling since Reno; this is the perfect series to get it right.

The main players to keep an eye on are senior Grace Uribe and senior Cali Decker.

Uribe should use this series to get back to how she performed pre-conference play. Decker started the year on fire, making two of the three all-tournament teams that the Aztecs participated in. Since the Utah State series, where Decker hit multiple home runs, earning her Conference Player of the Week honors, she has struggled mightily. Decker has been making good contact but has not been able to find holes in the defense.

The Aztecs and Rams will play on Saturday, April 5, at 12 PM PT.

Then again on Sunday, April 6, at 11 AM PT.

All games will be streamed on the Mountain West Network app and website.

Bryant Thursby

Assistant Coach at Heritage High School. A big time SDSU fanatic and Padres fan.