CHADRON, Neb. -- Chadron State College softball travels south for the weekend, where they will square off against the region's top competition at the West Texas Invitational. This year's WTI field includes all eight of last year's NCAA South Central region qualifers, in addition to top teams from the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, Lone Star Conference, and Heartland Conference.

The Eagles open the tourney on Friday at 11:30 a.m. Central, against Angelo State University, who is off to a blazing 6-0 start after going undefeated at their home tournament last weekend. The Rambelles return two NFCA All-Region pitchers in Kenedy Urbany and Brandy Marlett, who helped their team to an NCAA tournament bid in 2015.

At 4 p.m. Central on Friday, the Eagles face No. 10 Tarleton State. The Texanns have already knocked off No. 12 St. Mary's on their home field, beginning the season 6-1 with their only loss an 0-1 decision. Tarleton's senior outfielder Katelyn Conlee returns from an All-Region season, where her team advanced to the round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament after starting as the eighth seed in the region.

Saturday's first opponent, scheduled for 12:15 p.m. CT, is Midwestern State University. The Mustangs start at a 5-6 record, after defeating Western New Mexico on opening day and falling twice to No. 21 Regis in Lubbock, Texas. Katelyn Vinson hits .577 for them so far in the season, and they have a combined 10 home runs as a team.

Saturday's schedule concludes with a 2:30 p.m. CT matchup at host West Texas A&M, currently ranked No. 22 nationally and recipient of last year's No. 1 seed in the South Central region. The Lady Buffs have earned five straight wins to open the season, with three run-rule wins over RMAC opponents Fort Lewis and CSU-Pueblo, as well as one-run victories over No. 2 Dixie State and No. 13 Humboldt State. They have two returning All-Americans including Stacey Ramirez, who is 7-of-14 with nine runs scored in just one week of play, and catcher Lacey Taylor, a returning first teamer.

On Sunday, at 10:30 a.m. CT, the Eagles will contend with Cameron University and All-American designated player Paige Dano. The Aggies start the year off 5-3 after advancing to the South Central 1 Regional finals against Tarleton in 2015. They opened the season with three run-shortened victories, but lost three of their last five at the Southeastern Arkansas Invitational.

Finally, CSC concludes its weekend with Eastern New Mexico at 12:45 p.m. CT on Sunday. The Greyhounds won a couple of midweek games against Oklahoma Panhandle State, which they hosted on Tuesday, but remain relatively untested this season.

ENMU is the only opponent on this weekend's schedule that is new to the CSC program. The other five squads met the Eagles at last year's WTI, coming away with wins.

According to CSC head coach Rob Stack, the team will get a boost this weekend from the return of ace pitcher Tayler Hall, who has been sitting with a shoulder injury. In her comeback bid, she will be limited to a pitch count.

Senior Cierra Cosslett allowed only one earned run last weekend. After a scoring correction, her earned run average for the weekend is a team-best 0.44 over 16.0 innings. Lindsey Karlin leads the team with a .286 batting average on 4-of-14 hitting, with an RBI and two runs scored. Amanda Einspahr, who only came up to bat in two contests, is 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run.