By: Kaleb Center, CSC Sports Information
CHADRON, Neb. -- March 8, 2020 -- Chadron State College softball got its first series win of the season on Sunday with the split of a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference doubleheader against Colorado State University-Pueblo at home on CSC Softball Field. A pair of one-run games went 2-1 in Pueblo's favor and 7-6 on CSC's side.
"One of the things we tell the players all the time," said CSC Head Softball Coach Kaley Ness, "is that we need each other to stay composed in the dugout no matter the situation, and we did a great job of that today, even though we were down at the end of the first game and Pueblo nearly made a comeback in the second."
Pitchers Hannah Anderson of CSUP and CSC's Tia Kohl dueled in the morning game, stranding 12 baserunners combined and allowing two earned runs between them.
One unearned run crossed for Pueblo in the second on an outfield throwing error that was aimed at home plate to catch a runner after two base hits by the ThunderWolves.
The Eagles tied the game at one run apiece in the third, when Allie Mason, Ellie Owens, and Bailey Marvel led with consecutive singles to start the inning, and Addison Spears had the game-tying RBI.
Alyssa McWilliams added the game-winning RBI in the sixth, as the ThunderWolves strung together a trio of singles themselves.
Kohl's record went to 5-6 on the season, while Anderson earned her second win to improve to 2-3.
The Eagles got off to a hot start in the second game, pounding out eight hits in the first two innings combined, to take a 7-0 lead. CSC batted all the way through the lineup in the second inning, and Spears took a hard pitch to her left side, as five runs scored in that rally alone. Gabby Russell added a sac fly.
Pueblo got on the board in the third inning and cut the CSC lead to 7-4 in the fourth, getting four base hits with two already out and putting three more runs up.
CSUP's Marissa Piatt had an RBI triple in the seventh, and scored on the following play on a single by McWilliams, but CSC pitcher DeAnna Barrera retired the next two batters to improve to 5-7 on the year in a complete game.
The ThunderWolves' Taylor Strupp fell to 0-7.
One of the highlights of the latter game was the show stopping field work of Spears at second base. In the fifth and sixth innings she made diving stops in each inning which coach Ness said "definitely saved a few runs for us." One of those dives was a grounder which she flung to first base from a prone position. The other was a line drive which she turned into a double play.
"We work on diving in practice," said Spears, "and I've struggled with it, but I've learned the angles to take, and the hops the ball makes. It's important to see the ball all the way into the glove, or it's just going to go past you."
The double play was one of two on the day for the Eagles, and it was the fifth of the weekend.
Spears, a freshman from Berthoud, Colorado, also led the Eagles in the batter's box in the series, hitting 3-for-7 with four RBI and four runs scored. In addition to her three base hits, she recorded two walks, three sacrifice bunts, and one hit-by-pitch, leading CSC with a .600 on-base percentage.
Chadron State travels to MSU Denver during the college's spring break, to take on the Roadrunners, who are tied for the RMAC lead at 10-2.