The Chadron State College softball team went 3-1 over the weekend while playing the Fort Lewis Skyhawks in the first home games of the season.
The victories improve the Eagles to 6-13 overall and 4-8 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play. The Skyhawks’ record is now identical to CSC's.
On Saturday, Fort Lewis defeated Chadron State 7-6 in game 1, before the Eagles won 9-1 in five innings during game two.
Fort Lewis led 5-0 after four innings in game 1 before CSC’s Bailey Steinke hit a solo home run. Catheryn Rodman hit a two-run homerun for the Skyhawks in the top of the 7th, extending their lead to six.
Chadron State started a seventh inning comeback with a Mackenzie Kroll RBI single, scoring Chloe Brown. Jessica Henchenski followed with a 2-run single, making it 7-4.
People are also reading…
Sloane Quijas’s grounder to shortstop was misplayed advancing Henchenski to third and Kroll came home.
After Steinke singled, Henchenski scored, making the 7-6, but CSC was unable to score again.
Chadron State's bats caught fire in game two on Saturday, when the Eagles won 9-1.
Ashland Baca started the action for CSC, driving in Aliyah Rothstein in the bottom of the first, The Skyhawks tied the game in the top of the second after a Chadron State error.
CSC responded to the visitors’ run when Henchenski belted a homer in the last of the second that also scored Spears. Rothstein’s single also sent Steinke home in the inning, extending the Eagles’ lead to 4-1.
In the third, the Eagles belted two home runs to go with two RBI doubles. Kroll started the action with a two-run home that scored Spears again. Henchenski also hit a solo shot, and Steinke smacked a two-out double that scored Quijas. Rothstein also doubled to drive in Steinke.
CSC extended its lead to 9-1 after the third inning runs, allowing the Eagles to win in five innings via the eight-run rule.
Sunday, the Eagles went 2-0, earning 6-5 and 3-2 wins.
The hosts scored four times in the bottom of the 6th inning to tie the score at five, before a single scored Henchenski for the winning run in extra innings.
After Catheryn Rodman was walked home, Sloan Shotten hit a grand slam in the top of the second for the visitors, giving them a 5-0 lead.
No more scoring occurred until the bottom of the fifth when Mackenzie Kroll, a junior from Brighton, Colo., came home on a wild pitch.
The Eagles’ rally started in the bottom of the sixth when Ashland Baca walked, Lauren Zimmerman singled and Addison Spears, a senior from Berthoud, Colo., hit an RBI double to start the scoring, bringing Baca home.
The run caused a pitching change by the Skyhawks, with Amiee Shanks replacing Caydee Farnworth
The first batter Shanks faced was Kroll, who hit an RBI single that scored Brady Laucomer, Zimmerman's pinch runner.
Henchenski followed with another RBI single, scoring Laucomer, a freshman from Scottsbluff.
Next, Sloane Quijas hit a grounder to second and reached by a fielder's choice. The defender threw the ball home where Kroll was called out.
Steinke followed with a grounder to the shortstop, who struggled to pick up the ball, allowing all runners to advance and Henchenski to score, tying the game at five.
With the game in extra innings, Henchenski was walked and Quijas singled, advancing Henchenski to third.
CSC's next batter, Steinke, singled down the left field line, driving in the winning run.
In game 2, CSC scored three runs in the first inning and held on for the 3-2 victory.
After CSC's first two batters walked, Zimmerman doubled to center field, scoring Steinke.
With two outs, a wild pitch allowed Aliyah Rothstein to score and advance the other runners. After Jazlyn Arvizo was walked, another wild pitch allowed Laucomer, who was pinch running for Zimmerman again, to come home.
The Skyhawks scored twice in the top of the third, but the Eagles still won.
In the circle, Delaney Farnsworth went 2-0 while Tori Haug was 1-1 for the weekend. Farnsworth had a 1.50 ERA, while allowing only three runs. She struck out 18 batters in 12 innings pitched.
Henchenski, a junior from Fort Collins, led the Eagles at the plate, batting .500. She had five hits, including two home eruns and scored five runs in 10 at bats,. She finished with 6 RBIs.
