Chadron State College Athletics

CHADRON, Neb. -- April 11, 2018 -- Chadron State College softball's home series with Colorado School of Mines will be postponed to Sunday, April 15, and Monday, April 16, on account of a spring snowstorm that is tracking for Friday.

Colorado Mines rides a string of six wins into the weekend, and has won seven of its last eight since returning from a trip to No. 1, undefeated Colorado Mesa three weeks ago. The Orediggers are 22-18 (16-12 RMAC) and are currently fifth in the RMAC standings.

The Eagles, at 11-24 (9-16 RMAC) are in ninth and have lost seven in a row since taking the first three in a series against Black HIlls State in Gillette, Wyoming.

Three weekends of conference play remain, with every RMAC team scheduled for four games apiece.

Chadron State's pitching has remained its calling card all season, and has left the team in position to be able to win nearly every game, however its batting has been its weakness, ranking 12th as a team with a .245. The need for hitters in the lineup only grew more urgent with the news this week that left fielder Aspen Eubanks, the team's lone senior, will miss the remainder of the season due to injury.

Eagle pitchers Jessica Jarecki, Megan Horn, and Dallas Magnusson have allowed 93 earned runs for a team earned run average of 2.84. Both figures are second best in the conference.

Both Oredigger units have performed reasonably well, but not outstanding. Mines is batting .316 and holds a team ERA of 3.68.

A pair of sophomores leads CSM. Claire Stringfellow, a southpaw pitcher from Houston, has a 2.31 ERA by allowing only 28 earned runs in 19 appearances. Clara Larson of Castle Rock, Colorado, has been the Orediggers' starting shortstop since she arrived on campus last year, and bats .426 this season. Her 51 RBI are more than twice the next best on the team.

Hallie Smith, who opened last weekend's home series with CSU-Pueblo, is typically the number two in the circle and leads the team with 100.0 innings pitched and 59 strikeouts.

The Eagles are looking to earn their fourth trip to the RMAC tournament in five seasons, but need to improve their position in order to do so. The top eight teams move on to the postseason, which is typically hosted by the team finishing first.

Sunday's doubleheader is scheduled for noon, and Monday's is set for 11 a.m.