LAS VEGAS, N.M. -- March 30, 2019 -- Chadron State College softball got its first four-game road sweep in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play since April 2017 on Saturday, completing the four-game series 4-0 after wins of 12-1, in six innings, and 5-4, in seven.
Cassidy Horn, the Eagles' freshman pitcher from Colorado Springs, received decisions in both games Saturday to go with the two she received on Friday, making her the first CSC pitcher since the program returned in 2007 to have won four games in a single weekend.
Rather than load up on runs in one big inning, like they did in Friday's late game, the Eagles spread their 12 runs out across six in the morning game on Saturday.
Alyssa Geist and
Ellie Owens each singled in the first, and three Cowgirls committed errors as Chadron State got out to a 2-0 lead.
Angelica Maples made it 3-0 in the second with a solo shot over the center field wall.
Owens led off the third with a homer of her own, and Maples hit a two-run blast in the third bringing in
Katelyn Eldredge off a base hit.
Highlands cut it to 6-1 in the bottom of the third with a solo home run. Other than that, Horn allowed a single base hit in each of the third, fourth, and fifth innings and
Peyton Propp held the Cowgirls hitless in the sixth.
Haleigh Hoefs and
Kayla Michel went one-two in the fourth with base hits, and both hits resulted in RBI for
Bailey Rominger off a double later in the inning.
Maples put an exclamation point on the Eagles' romp by knocking a grand slam in the sixth inning.
CSC committed four errors in the final game of the series, yet never trailed, and eight of nine batters reached base safely at least once. Propp started and gave the Eagles a 3-0 lead, before Horn took over in the third and pitched the final five for the decision.
Michel's home run to lead off the second was the go-ahead run for Chadron State, before Maples doubled to make it 2-0 and
Britny Davis added a third RBI. Highlands stayed in the game with a two-run shot in the bottom of the same inning.
In the third, each team added a single run to make it 4-3.
The winning run for the Eagles came in the fourth, on a solo dinger by
Katelyn Eldredge. Horn gave up one solo homer in the sixth, but otherwise held the Cowgirls scoreless over the final four innings despite three CSC infield errors.
Maples finished the day with eight RBI and four runs scored on 4-for-7 hitting, with a double and three home runs including the slam. Michel also batted 4-for-7 with one round-tripper.
For the series, Hoefs was 8-of-14 in the batter's box, with eight RBI and five runs scored on two doubles and two home runs. She also recorded seven putouts and seven assists from her second base spot with no errors. Horn pitched 16 1/3 innings in the four outings, allowing only two total runs for a 1.10 earned runs average with four strikeouts and only one walk.
As long as the weather cooperates, CSC is finally set to host a home series each of the next two weekends as 15th-ranked and defending RMAC champion Colorado Mesa comes to town Saturday, April 6, followed by league newcomer Dixie State the following weekend.
