Eagles Sweep BHSU In Series Moved From Spearfish

Photo Courtesy/Carter Hattery/CSC Sports Information

The Chadron State College softball team completed a series sweep of Black Hills State University on Friday, winning 2-0 and 11-4 at CSC Softball Field in Chadron. The four-game series was played in Chadron, however BHSU served as the home team for competition purposes, having moved its home series to Chadron in order to avoid freezing temperatures and wind.

The temperatures in Chadron on Friday weren’t much better, but the doubleheader was begun, due to RMAC rules, just after 2 p.m., when the wind chill reached 25 degrees.

The Eagles continue to stymie the Yellow Jackets in the history of the two teams, with a 40-8 advantage going to Chadron State.

CSC senior pitcher Tia Kohl finished off an impressive week in the circle, notching her third win of the week and first save of the year to improve to 5-14 for the year. She allowed only two base hits and one walk in a complete game shutout in game three of the series, before pitching two perfect innings to add a save in the series finale.

Kohl has a 4.16 ERA over her last 10 appearances.

Thanks to Kohl’s dominant pitching performance, the first inning homer by sophomore Jessie Henchenski proved all the offense the Eagles needed in game three.

CSC tacked on a bookend run in the seventh when sophomore Mackenzi Kroll roped a pitch down the left field line for a double, and junior Addison Spears singled up the middle to bring Kroll in for a score.

BHSU’s Crystal Amaral went start to end in the circle, dropping to 5-12 with the loss.

Later in the afternoon, the two teams squeezed in a game four, thanks to special permission from the RMAC office.

Kroll put the Eagles on top 2-0 with a two-RBI double in the first inning, and CSC never trailed again in the game.

Sophomore Sloane Quijas gave the Eagles the winning runs with a two-run dinger in the second, and CSC cruised to victory, never leading by fewer than three runs in an 11-4 final.

Kroll was 3-for-4 in game four, and 4-for-7 in total on Friday, with two RBI and one run scored. Quijas also batted two runs in and scored two. Spears and freshman Amaya Ruiz also added two RBI apiece.

Senior Gabby Russell collected the pitching win for CSC, going four and one-third innings with only one earned run assessed. She improved to 2-6.

For BHSU, Shayla Tuschen, a sophomore, pitched all but one out, receiving the loss to fall to 5-9.

Chadron State improved from 11th in the RMAC standings to ninth with the four wins, passing Black Hills State, which is now in 10th.

Also, in Thursday’s game two of the series, true freshman outfielder Aliyah Rothstein became the single-season record-holder for stolen bases, improving to 21 thefts on the season. She surpassed Courtney Lecher’s 20 steals in the 2016 season.

The Eagles host Colorado School of Mines next week in the home finale series. Senior Day is scheduled for Sunday, April 24.

The Orediggers hang in the balance for the sixth and final RMAC Playoffs spot at 15-15 in league play, after a 1-1 day at home on Friday against Regis University. That series concludes on Saturday.