BY: DAVE COLLINS
Sports Director
Chadron State will face two new teams Friday as the squad moves through a busy opening weekend schedule in Texas at the Lubbock Sports College Invitational.
The Eagles are scheduled to face Minot State at 1:00 and Texas Permian Basin at 3:00 Friday, the fourth and fifth games of the young season. Minot is off to a great start at 4-0 and will play Emporia State in its first game of the event before its match-up with CSC. UTPB blasted five home runs in an 11-1 win over Adams State last Sunday and will face the Grizzlies again in Lubbock today before the match-up with Chadron State.
The Eagles (1-2) enter the day after a doubleheader split with Eastern New Mexico on Wednesday to open their Lubbock journey. The Greyhounds broke open a 1-0 game in CSC's season opener with an 11-run fifth inning to close a 12-0 win. Brooke Leger held the CSC offense to one hit, a bunt single by Aliyah Rothstein in the third inning.
Chadron State fended off a late Greyhound rally to hold on and win a 7-6 decision in Game Two. Hits from Lauren Zimmerman and Sloane Quijas gave CSC a 3-2 lead in the third, and Mackenzi Kroll doubled in a pair for a 5-3 lead, which eventually grew to 7-3 by the fifth inning. EMNU scored three in the sixth on three singles but a ground out with two runners on base in the seventh ended the rally.
Thursday the Eagles dropped a 3-0 contest to #21 Lubbock Christian. Delaney Farnsworth pitched six innings and kept LCU in check offensively, allowing seven hits and three runs while striking out five. However CSC's bats stayed quiet and produced just two hits along with nine K's.
Chadron State will get a second shot to upset Lubbock Christian on Saturday afternoon following a 10:00 morning start against Emporia State. The Eagles conclude their visit to Lubbock on Sunday with a morning game against UTPB.
This is the only non-conference segment of the schedule in 2023 for CSC. RMAC play begins on February 18 at pre-season favorites Colorado Christian. The Eagles home opener is March 4 against Fort Lewis.