Chadron’s Jamie Mazankowski, senior short stop of Kearney, tags out Sara Palizzi, sophomore outfielder of Thornton, Colo., at second base during the Eagles’ home game Sunday against University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. — Photo by Kinley Q. Nichols
The Chadron State softball team had the last laugh against the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs Mountain Lions at home this weekend.
Saturday, the team won the first game of the four-game series 2-0. Amy Schartz, sophomore of Brady, hit a homerun to left field in the second inning for the first run of the game.
Christina Lewis, senior of Delta, B.C., batted in Angela Jay, junior of Victoria, B.C., for the only other run of the game in the sixth inning.
The second game Saturday, the Eagles scored the first two runs of the game in the fourth inning with Lewis’s 2-run homerun.
The Mountain Lions took a 2-run lead in the sixth inning with a 3-run homerun and another RBI that gave UCCS the 4-2 win.
UCCS scored the first run of the day Sunday with a homerun by Erin Milburn, sophomore of Anthem, Ariz.
Lewis answered in the bottom of the second to tie the score 1-1.
The Mountain Lions scored 2 more runs in the fifth inning with three runners on and a double down the right field line to take the lead 3-1.
The Eagles answered with 4 runs in the fifth. Katie Bolin, senior of Kearney, had 2 RBIs off a single to right field.
Jamie Mazankowski, senior of Kearney, also hit in 2 runs off her single to right center and the Eagles ended the fifth inning with a 5-3 lead.
UCCS scored the winning 3 runs off of an unearned run and a single that scored 2 RBIs in the seventh inning.
The Eagles couldn’t answer and lost 6-5 for the series’ third game.
The Last game, the Mountain Lions scored the first 2 of their 3 runs the first inning.
The Eagles tightened the gap and scored a run on a throwing error.
The second and third inning the Eagles raked-in runs and had a 5-2 lead before the Mountain Lions answered.
The fourth inning, UCCS scored its last run on a homerun by Caitlin Connelly, sophomore of Broomfield, Colo.
Chadron State picked up 4 runs in the bottom of the fourth inning for a 9-3 lead and brought the maximum-run rule into effect. The Eagles won 11-3 after two outs into the fifth inning.
The team plays again at home noon Friday and at 11 a.m. Saturday against the Colorado School of Mines Orediggers.
