CHADRON, Neb. -- April 26, 2018 -- Chadron State College pays tribute to senior Aspen Eubanks this weekend, as it hosts Fort Lewis College for four games Saturday and Sunday at CSC Softball Field. The team will honor two different sets of cancer survivors over the weekend, paying tribute to breast cancer survivors on Saturday, before honoring those affected by brain cancer on Sunday.

The tributes are especially relevant to this year's team, as players' families have been impacted by both diseases.

Eubanks, from Broomfield Colorado, has been a four-year starter for the Eagles in the outfield. During that time she has started 166 games, batting .320 with 92 RBI and 66 runs scored. Eubanks ranks fourth all-time with four career sac flies, sixth with 154 hits, and seventh with 20 home runs. Her career ended short this spring due to injury, but she was on pace to move up to fifth on the career RBI list. She is the only senior on this year's roster.

Chadron State remains alive for its fourth postseason berth in five seasons entering the weekend. Its hopes rest not only on the outcome of its own contests, but also on the results of games between eighth-place CSU-Pueblo and top-ranked Colorado Mesa, as well as those between ninth-place Black Hills State and sixth-ranked University of Colorado Colorado Springs. The Eagles need to win at least three games at home versus 11th-place Fort Lewis, to see Colorado Mesa win at least three on the road, and to get a couple of wins by UCCS at home.

Fort Lewis split its most recent series at home against CSU-Pueblo, but has struggled on the road going 1-15 at opponents' home fields. At 9-27 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play, the Skyhawks are eliminated mathematically from postseason play.

Statistically, the Skyhawks rank near the bottom in many of the offensive categories, but they have power behind several of their bats. Despite leading the league in strikeouts and batting .264 as a team, they are sixth in the league at hitting doubles (73) and tied for fifth with 35 home runs.

They are led by Angelique Elemen, a returning NFCA Second Team All-American. The junior designated player leads the team in batting (.374), slugging (.691), home runs (11), and RBI (33), and is currently on a six-game streak of multiple hits after hitting 11-for-15 against CSU-Pueblo last weekend with five RBI, three runs scored, and one homer. Three other Skyhawks have at least 10 multiple-base hits on the season.

Defensively, FLC is at the wrong end of the league rankings for errors, wild pitches, passed balls, and stolen bases allowed. Its pitching staff has recorded an earned runs average of 6.87, which ranks 10th, but the defense has allowed 96 unearned runs this season, which also ranks last.

In addition to chasing the eighth seed in the RMAC tournament, sophomore pitcher Jessica Jarecki is chasing some school records this weekend. She currently holds records for career ERA (2.55), career opponent batting average (.242), and career walks allowed average (2.46), and is tied for complete games pitched (42) with Cassie (Humphrey) Ritzen. She is 28 away from the career record in total strikeouts. Single season records within reach include complete games pitched, opponent batting average, strikeouts average, and total strikeouts.

Sophomore Megan Horn is 10th on both the career and season strikeouts list, with a chance to move up on both.

In support of breast cancer research, the team will sell pink wristbands at the concession stand on Saturday.