BOISE – Battling a snow delay and a ferocious Colorado State offense, the Rams handed Boise State its first conference loss of the 2023 season, Friday night.
Snow fell onto the tarp for about 15 minutes before the Rams and Broncos would start a flurry of runs on their own, with Colorado State taking down Boise State 13-11 in the end.
“You saw it from the first pitch of the game,” Boise State coach Justin Shults told Bronco Nation News. “For them to come out and hit a hard line drive to start the game they set the tempo.”
The Rams jumped out to a 6-1 lead before Boise State would reel the lead back with one run in the third and three runs on a two RBI single from Jordyn Hutchins made the game 6-5 in the fourth.
Colorado State would retaliate immediately, scoring four runs in the top of the fifth off of Kasey Aguinaga.
The Rams held onto a 10-5 lead before the Broncos rallied back to score six runs in the bottom of the sixth thanks to a bases-clearing double from Kelsey Hall (3 RBI) and an RBI single from Eliyah Flores to tie the game.
“It was gut check time,” Shults said. “It’s really cold out here and we could have thrown in the towel or we could have competed and I loved their fight.”
Abby Bumcrot followed with a single to drive in Alycia Flores to take the lead heading into the seventh.
Down to their final out and the bases loaded, the Rams responded with a bases-clearing double from Danielle Serna to give Colorado State a 13-11 lead.
Shults was thrown out of the game between half innings in the seventh by home plate umpire John O’Meilia. Boise State’s skipper told Bronco Nation News that the conversation had to do with the safety of continuing the game with minimal daylight.
“I don’t want to take anything away from Colorado State,” Shults said. “They won the game and played better than we did but it became a safety issue.”
The Broncos did not score in the bottom of the seventh, ending the game with Colorado State handing the Broncos their first conference loss of the season.
“We set up our strength of schedule early to feel these types of losses,” Shults said. “You’re battling and you’re battling and you lose tight. How do you respond tomorrow?”
The Broncos (16-11, 3-1 MW) will face Colorado State (17-8, 3-1 MW) tomorrow with another opportunity to take down the Rams. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. along with Sunday’s contest slated for 11 a.m. at Dona Larsen Park.
