Softball team hopes to carry success through RMAC tourney

The Eagles qualified for the RMAC postseason tournament for the first time since 2010, only the second time in school history after breaking the previous school win-record of 25. The team has won 27 games this season, giving them the third seed in the tournament. The Eagles look to do better than their 2010 postseason run, where they finished with a 1-2 record.

The team will play in the eight-team, double-elimination tournament. The first match-up for the Eagles will be at 10:45 this morning against the University of Colorado—Colorado Springs. The number one seeded team, Colorado Mesa University, Grand Junction, will host the entire tournament. The bracket for the tournament can be found on the RMAC website, www.rmacsports.org.

Following the team’s success, individual players have been recognized for their achievements as well. Breeze Phillips, sophomore of Evergreen, Colorado, was honored with the 2014 Summit Award winner for softball. The student-athlete with the highest GPA participating at the RMAC’s championships receives the award. To be eligible, the student-athlete must be a sophomore who has participated in his or her sport for at least two years with his or her school. Phillips is a relief pitcher for the Eagles. She has an ERA of 2.73 in 42 2/3 innings this season. She’s tallied 16 strike outs. Phillips was named to the RMAC All-Academic First Team. She majors in sports and recreational management and maintains a 4.0 GPA.

Two other Eagles were named to All-Conference teams. Kylee Polsley, senior of Omaha, was named to the RMAC Softball All-Conference Second Team. She was also named the RMAC Pitcher of the Week. She holds the school record for the most single season wins, 16. She leads the RMAC in strikeouts and shutouts and is second in ERA.

Taylor Bauer, freshman of Rapid City, South Dakota, was named to the RMAC Softball All-Conference Third Team.

Head Coach Robert Stack was also honored for his season. He was awarded the RMAC Coach of the Year. The softball program was revived in 2007 and Stack has coached all seven year. In that time, he has led the Eagles to five 20-win seasons, culminating in the most wins in a season this year, and he has recorded 144 victories.

Stack is from Tabor, South Dakota. He began his coaching career in baseball, including four years as head coach of the University of South Dakota’s baseball team. In his first three years as Chadron State’s head coach, Chadron improved its win total every year, making Chadron the only RMAC team to do so in that span.

Stack motivated his players this year by showing the team a shirt from the 2010 RMAC tournament. For every win the Eagles earned this year, they cut a piece of the shirt off, symbolizing that success with this year’s team is more important to Stack than past accomplishments.

CSC ended the regular season in spectacular fashion, with two grand slams on Saturday. The Eagles took the final series of the year against Fort Lewis College, Durango, Colorado, winning three of the four games.

The Eagles won the first game Friday 8-0 thanks to a walk-off grand slam by Courtney Lecher, freshman of Fort Collins, Colorado. The grand slam was hit in the fifth inning, and the softball mercy-rule meant that the game ended without playing the sixth or seventh innings.

Polsley pitched the shutout with seven strikeouts and just one hit allowed.

The second game on Friday was almost exactly like the first, with a grand slam by Jessica Eatmon, junior of Broomfield, Colorado, and shutout for a final score of 6-0.

Eatmon started the scoring for the Eagles in the third inning, scoring Lecher, Rebecca Wetsch, junior of Erie, Colorado, and Sarah Knudsen, senior of Parker, Colorado. The Eagles picked up the scoring again in the fifth, with Lecher, Knudsen, and Katie Londo, senior of Colorado Springs, all coming home off singles.

Aryn Grywusiewicz, senior of Denver, pitched the shutout while allowing just two hits all game.

The first game of Saturday’s doubleheader was more of the same, edging out Fort Lewis 3-2. Fort Lewis took the lead early, scoring its only two runs of the game in the first.

The Eagles responded with a run of their own when Londo hit a triple to center field, scoring Lecher.

Shea Graham, sophomore of Colorado Springs, tied the game back up in the fourth inning with a solo home run over center field, sparking the dugout and reenergizing the team. Casey Polk, junior of Golden, Colorado, put the Eagles back in the lead for good with a solo homer of her own.

Once again, Polsley pitched well when the team needed her to down the stretch. She allowed four hits with five strikeouts, and with this win set her school record for most single season wins.

Fort Lewis fought back to take the final game in the series, with a 12-5 win to end the weekend. The Eagles trailed 5-1 in the fifth when Wetsch roped a three-run homer over center field. Graham scored in the seventh to send the game into extra innings, but Fort Lewis scored three home runs in the ninth to seal the victory.