By: Kaleb Center, CSC Sports Information
LAS VEGAS, N.M. -- March 28, 2021 -- The Chadron State College softball team persevered in two extra-inning Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference games on Sunday, downing New Mexico Highlands University 5-4 and 4-0 to capture the series victory in Las Vegas, 3-1.
"Our pitchers did a great job getting ahead in the count, as well as limiting the number of batters we put on base," said CSC Head Softball Coach Kaley Ness. "By doing so, they kept us in the game and gave our hitters extra opportunities to score runs. We're proud of the team, and we look forward to working hard to get better this week in preparation for our games this upcoming weekend."
CSC's No. 1 pitcher Tia Kohl improved to 3-5 on the season with a complete nine-inning game in the third contest of the series Sunday morning. She had two of her three strikeouts in extra innings, holding NMHU without a hit in the final three frames, to finish with a .250 opponent batting average and a 3.11 earned runs average for the day.
Highlands jumped on the board first, in its first at-bat, with an RBI double by Carlee Gonzalez.
Micah Stouffer answered for the Eagles in the top of the second, hitting a solo homer with one out to even the score at 1-1.
It was three and one half innings before NMHU broke the tie, getting three of its nine base hits in the bottom of the fifth including an RBI single by Samantha Gamboa to go ahead 2-1.
CSC again answered the bell with a three-run sixth inning, taking a 4-2 lead. The Eagles got four walks and singles from Gabby Russell and Addison Spears, with the latter batting in the go-ahead RBI.
New Mexico Highlands evened things up with a sixth-inning homer by Brooklynn DeLozier, good for two more scores.
Things remained knotted 4-4 until an unearned ninth-inning, game-winning run represented by Bailey Marvel on a fielding error by the Cowgirls.
Gamboa fell to 0-3 in the pitching circle with the seven and two-thirds inning decision, in which she exited in the sixth and re-entered in the seventh to allow the leadoff single to Marvel.
Peyton Propp twirled an eight-inning two-hitter in the late game. She advanced her record to 3-6 by fanning eight NMHU batters and walking only two, going the distance for a complete game shutout.
CSC left runners on base in each of the first six innings, yet the game remained scoreless headed into the top of the eighth.
There, the Eagles went on a hitting spree, getting one walk and five singles from Ellie Owens, Spears, Mackenzi Kroll, Samantha Conradie, and Sloane Quijas.
Ahead 4-0, Propp struck out the final batter in the bottom of the ninth to punctuate the win.
Nathalie Blattmann received the loss for the Cowgirls, falling to 3-6.
Both of Highlands' base hits in the game were swatted by Tamia Yellowman.
Quijas and Conradie led the Eagles in the batter's box on Sunday, both going 3-for-7.
For the series, Kroll and Stouffer took top billing for the Eagles. While each player homered twice, Kroll hit 4-for-10 with six RBI, three runs scored, and two walks while Stouffer was 5-for-16 with one walk.
CSC improved to 7-13 (7-9 RMAC) over the weekend, while NMHU fell to 5-15, all in league play.
The Eagles are back at home on Friday, hosting MSU Denver, which is riding an eight-game winning streak. That series is set to conclude on Saturday.