By: Paxton Ritchie
CSC Sports Information Director
CHADRON, Neb. – Chadron State softball sent off its seniors in style with two wins over Adams State, marking Senior Day and ending the 2025 season with 9-1 and 7-3 wins over the Grizzlies.
Sophia Brennan hit a three-run home run in game one to help CSC end it in five innings, then Angelina Quezada, one of eight seniors honored on the day, tied a career-high with three RBI in the second game. In addition, senior pitchers Tori Haug and Kenzi Garner closed out their careers with complete-game victories.
Chadron State ends its season with a 22-28 record, including an 18-26 mark in the RMAC. The Eagles finished the year strong, ending on a five-game win streak and coming out on top in 10 of their last 14 contests. The Eagles ultimately finished in ninth place in the league standings but were closer in the standings to the fourth-place team than they were to the 10th-place team.
Just like yesterday, Chadron State set the tone with a four-run first inning in game one of the doubleheader. The Eagles went station-to-station, with two singles and a walk loading the bases before an RBI single from Ashland Baca, a bases-loaded walk to Kenzi Garner, and run-scoring errors off the bat of Brennan and Sydney Loyet which produced two more runs.
The Eagles manufactured two more runs in the third inning, scoring on a Loyet fielder's choice plus a Jazlyn Arvizo single. In the fourth, CSC put themselves in run-rule distance after singles from Lauren Zimmerman and Brogan Allen brought Sophia Brennan to the plate with one out. Brennan went with an outside pitch, driving an opposite field home run to right-center to put CSC up 9-0 and score Allen and pinch-runner Destrie Greiman.
In Tori Haug's five innings of work in the circle, the senior righty pounded the zone, striking out seven while not walking a batter. Haug scattered four hits and only allowed one run on a solo homer in the fifth and final inning. She needed only 69 pitches and 19 batters to get through five innings. With the win, Haug finishes the season 10-14.
After an emotional Senior Day ceremony between games, the Eagles fell behind the eight-ball early in game two, as Adams State scored once in the first and twice in the fourth to take a 3-1 lead.
Chadron State turned the tide with a four-run fifth inning. Two walks set the stage for an RBI single from Quezada to bring the Eagles within a run. Lauren Zimmerman hit a hot shot off the third baseman's glove to score the tying run, before an Ashland Baca single and Kenzi Garner sac fly gave the Eagles the lead plus insurance.
CSC added on in the sixth. With two outs, J'lyssa Martinez rocketed a double into the left-center field to place runners on second and third. Quezada came through again, singling through the left side to score both and make it 7-3.
Despite the early runs, Kenzi Garner pitched a complete game to earn her eighth win of the season. Garner scattered nine hits but limited the damage to just three runs while walking one and striking out two.
Like yesterday, all eight of CSC's seniors – Loyet, Quezada, Haug, Garner, Martinez, Zimmerman, Kendall Petty and Baca – were in the lineup for both games. Haug had another turn as a left fielder and two more at-bats, collecting a hit and a walk. Haug ends her CSC career at the plate with a perfect 1.000 batting average (2-for-2 with two walks plus a sacrifice fly).
The games Saturday were also the last in the dugout for Chadron State Interim Head Coach Dr. Rob Stack, who previously coached the Eagles from 2008-2017 and took the reins again on an interim basis for the 2025 season. Dr. Stack will focus on his ongoing job as a math professor at CSC as the Eagles continue their search for a new permanent softball coach.