CSC Sports
Kaleb Center, Sports Information Director
CHADRON — Colorado Christian University came away with two wins Friday after Chadron State College softball got off to a slow start offensively. The Eagles dropped the first game 7-0, but rallied to force a late-game tie in the second contest. However the Cougars, with slap-happy hitters up and down their lineup, were too much for CSC and won 6-3 in the latter game.
CCU, which received votes in the national polls this week, got its 30th win of the season, and its 20th in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play, going to 30-3 (21-1 RMAC). CSC dropped to 11-20 (9-12 RMAC).
CSC’s Jessica Jarecki and Megan Horn were each charged with a loss in the circle. CCU’s Kenzie Mattey accepted both wins for the Cougars, going to 17-2.
The Cougars knocked out four hits in the second inning of the first game, and three more in the fifth, scoring three runs in each frame, before tacking on an insurance run in the seventh. Chadron State scratched out one base hit in each of four innings, leaving four total runners stranded.
Jarecki had six strikeouts in four and two-thirds innings, and allowed three earned runs. Dallas Magnussoncame in during the fifth inning as a reliever, allowing only one hit, but was charged with an unearned run after the Eagles committed three errors.
The second game was much more competitive for CSC. The Eagles gave up a first inning score, but benefited from a pair of CCU errors to plate one in the third, tying the game at 1-1.
The Cougars’ Stephanie Day hit a two-run homer in the fifth, and the Eagles again knotted things at 3-3 with their sixth time at bat. Allie Mason and Bailynn Meek each had the only RBI base hits of the day for CSC, each batting home a run in the sixth.
Colorado Christian took control for good in the seventh however, with two hits, two walks, two wild pitches, and a stolen base. The Cougars’ two hits were both for extra bases, getting a double and a triple in the decisive inning.
Chadron State’s Aspen Eubanks and Mason were each 3-for-6 to lead the Eagle hitters.
The two games, together with intermission, lasted more than five and a half hours, making a third game unfeasible due to the time and available light remaining.
Chadron State will turn its path back toward Colorado next week, playing at MSU Denver.