CHADRON, Neb. -- February 27, 2020 -- Chadron State College will open its home softball schedule one day earlier than expected, due to a snowy forecast for Sunday. The Eagles will work to brush the snow currently laying on the field, in time to play a doubleheader against Regis University at noon on Friday, followed by another beginning at 11 a.m. on Saturday.

The visitors enter the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference series 3-0 in league play, after sweeping Adams State in their own first weekend at home on Saturday. Those games in Denver were shifted around as well. The Rangers ended up hosting a tripleheader and cancelling the Sunday portion of their scheduled four-game series.

Regis' overall record improved to .500 on the season in its first conference action, moving to 6-6 after a slow start. The Rangers' bats finally clicked last weekend versus Adams, when they went off for 32 runs on 34 base hits, led by senior center fielder Laura Scheffel, who accounted for half of those runs, either as a batter or a baserunner.

Like Chadron State, the Regis team relies on a younger pool of talent.

The Rangers' leading batter is freshman third baseman Shayelyn at an average of .414 with three doubles and nine runs scored. She has zero errors in the field as well, through 12 starts.

Next best in the batter's box is sophomore shortstop Jessi Case, who bats .394 and leads the team in slugging, stolen bases, and runs scored,

Sophomore catcher Carly Beard was one of the two players selected by the league as one to watch as well. However she has struggled out of the gate and only has four base hits this year.

Freshman Kara Rodeheaver leads a trio of starting pitchers, all of whom register a .500 record. Rodeheaver has a team-best earned runs average of 4.20 and allows opponents to hit only .287, starting half of the Rangers' games. Veteran Taylor Armitage, a senior, also returns.

The Rangers were picked by the RMAC coaches to finish eighth in the league, in a preseason poll. Chadron State was 10th in the same poll.

The Eagles feature a mix of veterans and newcomers, with four freshmen stepping into starting roles so far.

CSC is 5-10 overall but has led or been tied midway through all but two of the losses. The team opened its conference schedule last weekend in Grand Junction, where it started 0-4 against the defending regular season champ.

Sophomore shortstop Bailey Marvel, the leading returner in the batter's box, is one of five Eagles batting .300 or better, with an average of .375. She is matched for batting average by utility pitcher Gabby Russell. Close behind the pair is freshman second baseman Addison Spears, who leads the team with 17 RBI. Outfielders Angelica Maples, a senior, and freshman Mackenzi Kroll have each batted .333 and are numbers one and two, respectively, in home runs, with seven combined.

Freshman DeAnna Barrera and junior Tia Kohl, both newcomers to the team, take up the bulk of the pitching duties. Barrera leads the team and is fifth in the league with a 2.90 ERA. She holds opponents to a .249 batting average and has fanned 39 batters.

Last season when the two teams met in Denver, each team swept a daily doubleheader. CSC won 9-7 and 14-5 on Saturday of the series, while Regis pulled out wins by scores of 8-3 and 6-3 on Sunday. Outfielder Ellie Owens, now a senior, and Marvel each finished with an 8-of-15 weekend batting, while Owens added six RBI and three runs scored.

Check back at chadroneagles.com for any further changes to the schedule.