Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 CHADRON, Neb. -- April 28, 2018 -- The Chadron State College softball team now has a magic number of two for the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament, greatly improving its postseason chances on Saturday at CSC Softball Field by dealing 11th-place Fort Lewis a pair of losses. Freshman Abby Anderson homered twice and the Eagles took advantage of Skyhawk errors in the late game, as CSC held on to win 3-1 in the noon outing before run-ruling Fort Lewis 10-1 later on.

Chadron State controls its destiny on Sunday, the final day of the regular season, after it got help from NFCA No. 3 Colorado Mesa and the University of Colorado Colorado Springs who each won twice. The two CSC wins, coupled with the losses by CSU-Pueblo and Black Hills State, will put the Eagles in the drivers' seat, at 12-23 in league play, for the eighth seed in the conference postseason, once the standings are sorted and become official.

Should Colorado Mesa win one more game on Sunday over CSU-Pueblo, the Eagles' magic number drops to one. Chadron State would not advance in any scenario if it failed to win one game on Sunday, due to the percentages associated with playing fewer games than CSU-Pueblo.

Colorado Mesa also clinched the regular season RMAC Championship on Saturday, and the Mavericks will have the first option to host their third consecutive league tournament, and their fourth of the past five.

As has been the case all season, the wins were driven largely by stellar performances in the pitching circle by sophomores Jessica Jarecki and Megan Horn.

Jarecki set a new Chadron State career record for complete games pitched, starting and finishing her 43rd contest in the early game of Saturday's doubleheader. The previous record of 42 belonged to Cassie Humphrey, now Ritzen, who threw 42 complete games between 2007 and 2010. Jarecki lowered her career record earned runs average to 2.49 by allowing zero earned runs in game one of the Fort Lewis series.

The Skyhawks' only run tied the game at one apiece in the top of the fourth, when a throw by CSC second baseman Kendyl Moody would have ended the inning on a double play, but instead went wide left with a runner on third.

The winning run also came unearned in the fourth inning, as freshman Leilani Niccum reached on a double, got to third on Anderson's sacrifice bunt, and scored on a muffed throw from the catcher back to pitcher Mandy Lorenson following a hit batter awarded to Moody. Anderson provided the add-on run with a solo homer in the sixth for insurance, and Jarecki closed the game out by retiring batters four, five, and six in the Fort Lewis lineup.

Later, CSC took a 3-0 lead in the second inning of the afternoon game, getting three runs on two errors and four walks. The Eagles exploded for seven runs in the decisive fourth inning, when they strung together six hits and were aided by four more Skyhawk errors. Fort Lewis's only earned run all day broke up Horn's shutout in the final inning when FLC's Kellsi Peterson led off with a home run to left, in defiance of 20 mile per hour winds from that direction.

Kayla Michel went 2-for-2 with four walks to lead the Eagles in the batter's box. She also earned her first career stolen base in the fourth inning of game two. Designated player Bailynn Meek went 3-for-5 with a standup double. Anderson's three RBI and two home runs led the team.

Niccum exited game one in the seventh inning after receiving a pitch to the helmet. Concussion protocol was administered by the CSC training staff, and Niccum immediately left the field. Michel assumed her position behind the plate for the remainder of the day, with Allie Mason moving from third base to first, and Francine Boston filling in at third.

With seven strikeouts on Saturday, Jarecki is now within eight strikeouts of tying the CSC season record of 185 set by Casey Williams in 2009.

The Eagles resume the series again at 11 a.m. on Sunday in an effort to clinch postseason play for the fourth time in five seasons.