CHADRON, Neb. -- March 6, 2016 -- Chadron State College softball (13-9-1, 8-4 RMAC) won its first home series of the season, displacing their opponent Western New Mexico University (11-16, 7-5 RMAC) in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference standings and moving into a tie for third with the University of Colorado Colorado Springs.

The two CSC pitchers tossed two complete games apiece, each going for 14 innings total. Cierra Cosslett allowed three runs on 12 hits, striking out 10 over the weekend and going 1-1. Tayler Hall, still recovering from shoulder surgery, went 2-0 scattering 11 hits for seven runs and fanning 13 batters.

"With our two pitchers it's like we have two number ones," said head coach Rob Stack. "We really don't designate a number one and a number two. It's just that they've gotten accustomed to pitching in a certain order since the beginning of conference play and they are certainly comfortable with that order."

After they finished 1-1 in the Saturday doubleheader, the Sunday meetings both went to the Eagles as they exploded for 18 runs, half by way of round-trippers, in 10-1 and 8-6 wins.

The early game Sunday ended in spectacular fashion, with a walk-off grand slam by Zoe Humphries. Cosslett had a one-hitter going into the sixth with a 3-0 advantage.

Maya Garcia solo homered for the Mustangs in the top of the sixth, putting her team on the board.

In the bottom of the inning, the Eagles took advantage of a WNMU pitching staff that had been pushed all weekend. Shea Graham reached on error and stole second base, bringing up Kayla Michel, who bunted safely, and Taylor Bauer singled for two RBI. Courtney Lecher batted home Breeze Phillips, who pinch-ran for Michel, and Rebekah Anthony walked. When the Mustang starter, Domi Shone, re-entered the game after one complete relief inning by Tiana Salazar, Humphries put one over the wall to end the game.

In the afternoon game, the CSC bats again made plenty of contact. Seven Eagle batters hit safely in the game, with an eighth collecting a sacrifice fly for seven total RBI. Kayla Michel, who had the game-winner on Saturday with a three-run blast, went yard for two runs in the second following the sac fly by Karlin.

WNMU took a 4-3 lead in the fourth on a Samantha Munoz two-run shot.

In the fifth, Katelyn Kruger had an RBI single through the middle to tie things up. Right after Shone entered the game in relief, Aspen Eubanks put up a three-run blast over right field, which would prove the game winner.

The sixth inning saw Phillips score an unearned run, pinch-running again, after a throwing error by shortstop Garcia. In the seventh, WNMU threatened to tie it up, plating two more runs on four base hits. Then, with two out and runners on the corners, Hall struck out Brooklyn Misenhimer swinging to end the game.

Bauer went 7-of-12 on the weekend with a double, two runs scored, and two RBI. Kruger was 5-for-11 with two dingers, 11 total bases, three runs, and four RBI. Lecher hit 6-of-14 with two RBI and two runs scored. Michel had the two multiple-run homers, and Humphries had the grand slam with an additional run scored.

Pitching had been a bit of a question mark for the Eagles headed into the season, with 2015 ace Hall on the bench after shoulder surgery in the offseason. Both Eagle twirlers answered the bell for the team this weekend.

"Cierra last year had some challenges," said Stack, "just being able to get through the fifth inning and finishing games. She has definitely turned it up another level, really improving in the fall. Cierra took it upon herself to get into the mindset, with Tayler Hall out in the fall, that she was going to have to be our number one pitcher and she's really embraced it and done a nice job for us."

"Tayler is still trying to get her legs under her, trying to get back into shape where she can throw back-to-back games. She actually started doing that a couple weeks ago at Regis. Last weekend at Colorado Mesa she threw 10 innings. This weekend she had a three-hitter. That's pretty good. She didn't even have her best stuff. She said the same thing on Saturday. She's getting back into shape. She's probably still a couple weeks from full strength though."

The weather on Saturday dealt gusts of up to 30 miles per hour at CSC Softball Field, while Sunday brought fairer winds, steadily in the single digits.

"The home runs we had yesterday – Kruger's and Michel's – were into the wind a little bit," said Stack, "and that almost kind of helped them, just the way the ball moves and the aerodynamics. We did have a couple yesterday that went to straightaway center and the wind just knocked them down. Both teams play on the same field though. Aside from Kruger's ours were all multiple run home runs. Zoe had a grand slam, Kayla and Aspen both had two-run home runs. We'll take them and hopefully keep on rolling, because we have a tough weekend coming up next weekend as well."

After a Tuesday doubleheader with in-state rival Nebraska-Kearney, the Eagles face defending RMAC champion MSU Denver, who is in sole possession of second place in the RMAC, and CSU-Pueblo next weekend, in a pod hosted by Pueblo. The ThunderWolves, normally a league contender, find themselves in a jam near the bottom half of the conference after being swept by Black Hills State in Spearfish, South Dakota. They went 1-11 in non-conference play, but defeated Angelo State, who is receiving votes in the national poll.