Softball team wins 1 of 4 conference games
The Chadron State College softball team traveled to Silver City, New Mexico, this weekend to open RMAC play against CSU-Pueblo and Western New Mexico University. The Eagles played each team Saturday and Sunday.
Against Pueblo (8-8, 4-0 RMAC), Courtney Lecher, sophomore shortstop of Fort Collins, Colorado, helped the Eagles (1-15, 1-3 RMAC) off to a good start, cracking a solo homer in the first inning and a double in the second to bring home Shea Graham, junior outfielder of Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The Eagles controlled the game until Pueblo’s pitcher blasted a grand slam in the fourth inning to take a 5-3 lead. In the fifth, Pueblo’s catcher added another home run to lift the Thunderwolves to a 7-3 lead.
Casey Polk, senior of Golden, Colorado, doubled in the sixth inning to make things interesting, as the Eagles cut the Thunderwolves’ lead to one. But a Pueblo three-run home run in the bottom of the inning proved to be the dagger, propelling them to a 10-6 victory over CSC.
The Eagles jumped out to a demanding 10-1 lead through two and a half innings against Western New Mexico (4-11, 1-3 RMAC). Jessica Eatmon, senior outfielder of Broomfield, Colorado, and Aspen Eubanks, freshman infielder of Broomfield, Colorado, each hit doubles in the first to help the Eagles score their first four runs. Zoe Humphries, sophomore catcher of Arvada, Colorado, hit a two-run home run in a three-run second inning for the CSC, and Graham added another two-run homer in the top of the third.
The Mustangs got things going in the bottom of the third, scoring six runs off of four walks and two home runs. They carried this momentum into the fourth inning, attacking the Eagles with seven of their next eight batters hitting singles, taking a 16-10 lead over CSC.
WNMU scored two more runs to end the game due to a run rule, 18-10.
Sunday, the Eagles played two close games and found their first victory of the season against WNMU, 9-8.
The Eagles took a 1-0 lead early on after Humphries smashed a double to bring home Caroline Johnson, junior infielder of Firestone, Colorado.
The Mustangs answered with a solo home run to tie things up, but CSC’s Eubanks, who went 3-4 with three RBIs, hit a solo homer of her own in the second to put the Eagles back on top.
CSC jumped out to a 6-1 lead through three innings thanks to a two-run single by Katelyn Kruger, junior first baseman of Highlands Ranch, Colorado, and a two-run double by Eubanks. The Eagles scored two more runs in the fifth to take an 8-3 lead.
The Mustangs fought back, scoring two runs in the sixth to make it an 8-5 lead for the Eagles.
Kruger was walked early in the top of the seventh. Three batters later, Lecher hit a single to bring Kruger home and take a 9-5 lead.
Despite giving up a couple of walks and singles, Tayler Hall, junior pitcher of Windsor, Colorado, closed the game out to give the Eagles a 9-8 victory over the Mustangs.
“We were excited to get that first win under our belt,” Polk said. “We played so well this weekend, and it finally paid off. We’ve been doing everything right. So, we knew it was going to happen.”
The Eagles threw the first punch again against Pueblo, with Polk hitting a single up the middle to bring Lecher home and take a 1-0 lead. Humphries followed with a solo home run in the third to take a 2-0 advantage. Late in the sixth, Graham, who went 3-3, doubled to left field to bring Eubanks home. Bekka Prokaski, sophomore infielder of Broomfield, Colorado, came in as a pinch hitter on the next at bat, hitting a sacrifice fly to lift the Eagles to a 4-0 lead.
The ThunderWolves found a way to pull it out down the stretch, starting the inning with a solo home run. A two-run home run later gave the Eagles a 4-3 advantage. With the bases loaded, Pueblo brought in a pinch hitter, who would single to center field to bring home two runners and take a 5-4 edge.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Eagles could not manage a hit, giving the ThunderWolves an impressive come-from-behind win.
“We will enter (next weekend) with confidence without a doubt,” Polk said. “The results of last weekend’s games don’t reflect on how well we played. If we keep playing the way we are, we will have a successful season.”
The Eagles will play two double headers against Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado, Saturday and Sunday.