By John Murphy CSC SID BOX SCORE 1 BOX SCORE 2
The Chadron State College softball team won its seventh straight game and got one game closer to a playoff berth Sunday, defeating the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs 8-1 and 11-3 in 5 innings to sweep the 4-game road series.
With the victories, the Eagles improve to 24-23 overall and 22-18 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play, a win percentage of .550.
Fort Lewis currently holds the sixth and final spot in the playoffs and is one spot above CSC in the standings. The Skyhawks went 1-1 against Adams State on Sunday, dropping them to 21-17 with a conference win percentage of .553.
Scoring started for Chadron State in the top of the first after Lauren Zimmerman, a sophomore from Reno, Nevada, hit a solo home run to center field. The Mountain Lions quickly tied the game in the bottom of the inning with a solo homer of their own.
There was no more scoring until the 5th inning when Zimmerman doubled, scoring Aliyah Rothstein for a 2-1 lead.
The flood gates opened the next inning with 5 runs. A Jazlyn Arvizo single scored Mackenzi Kroll and freshman Brady Laucomer from Scottsbluff doubled to left center to plate J’lyssa Martinez and Jessie Henchenski.
The Eagles extended their lead to 6-1 on a Bailey Steinke single that scored Laucomer and an RBI single from Zimmerman brought home Steinke for a 7-1 margin. Henchenski, a junior from Fort Collins, Colorado, added a solo home run in the top of the 7th inning to wrap up the scoring.
Junior Tori Haug from Commerce City, CO, threw a 2-hitter to improve to 8-14. Haug tied her season-high with 8 strikeouts while walking only 2. Braelyne Crenshaw dropped to 2-16 on the season for the Mountain Lions.
The Eagles scored in every inning in Game 2 and pounded out a season-best 15 hits. Zimmerman once against started the scoring in the top of the 1st with an RBI double to bring Steinke around, but this time Ashland Baca followed with a 2-run homer that also brought home Jaelyn Martinez-Lewis.
A Laucomer solo homer in the top of the 2nd extended CSC’s lead to 4-0. UCCS got the run back in the bottom of the inning, but the Eagles responded with 2 in the 3rd inning as a Laucomer RBI single plated Sloane Quijas and Henchski scored on a Steinke single.
The Eagles took advantage of a Mountain Lion error in the 4th for a run and Henchenski followed up the error with a double with Quijas scoring to make it 8-1. A UCCS double in the bottom of the 4th trimmed the deficit, but CSC wasn’t done.
Steinke opened the 5th with a triple, Rothstein reached on a fielder’s choice without an out, and Zimmerman followed with a 3-run homer, her fourth round-tripper of the weekend. The Mountain Lions scored once in the bottom of the inning, but it wasn’t enough and CSC claimed the victory on the run rule.
Sophomore Kenzi Garner from Broomfield, CO, earned her first victory of the season in her first start of the season, scattering 7 hits while striking out 2 and walking 3.
The regular season ends this week and Chadron State may have the edge in the playoff race with Fort Lewis. The Skyhawks are at Colorado Christian, 38-2 in the RMAC, the Eagles host CSU-Pueblo. The Thunderwolves are 14-22 with a doubleheader today at Black Hills State.
The CSC-Pueblo series is Thursday and Friday. First pitch on Thursday is scheduled for noon and 2:00, while Friday’s games will start at 11:00 and 1:00.