CHADRON, Neb. -- April 26, 2021 -- A makeup doubleheader with Black HIlls State, and a Senior Weekend clash with No. 17 Colorado Mesa University, are on tap for the Chadron State College softball team this week, all taking place at CSC Softball Field in Chadron.

The Eagles (10-20, 10-16 RMAC) take on BHSU on Wednesday at noon, making up the pair of games postponed, due to field conditions, from April 17.

Chadron State won both games on the afternoon of the 18th, giving them a chance to complete the sweep this week. The Eagles have not played since then, having a series at Colorado School of Mines postponed due to Covid protocol.

The Yellow Jackets (3-30) have since gone on a road trip to Alamosa, Colorado, where Adams State University swept the series 4-0. CSC hopes to duplicate the Grizzlies success.

The series with No. 17 Colorado Mesa (30-2), originally scheduled as the final one of the season, will be played Friday and Saturday. Seniors Angelica Maples, Ellie Owens, and Bailey Rominger are to be honored on Saturday.

Mesa's hold on the top spot in the conference is strong. The Mavericks have swept six of the eight teams they've played, and are headed to Chadron on a 6-0 run after sweeping third-place Colorado Christian University. The only losses are to Regis University in the third game of their series, and to the University of Colorado Colorado Springs in game two.

The Mavs lead the league in all three phases of the game, with a .389 team batting average, a 2.73 team ERA, and a .967 fielding percentage.

The three pitchers in the Mesa rotation are all starters. The majority of the starts belong to junior Paige Adair, who leads the Mavericks with a .231 opponent batting average and 82 strikeouts over 96.0 innings in the circle. She has more strikeouts than hits allowed (80). Leading CMU in earned runs average, at 1.68, is Ellie Smith, a sophomore with a perfect 11-0 record. Shea Mauser, who was the Mavs' ace in 2020, has dropped to third in the rotation with a 5.21 ERA.

Sophomore outfielder Lauren Wedman ranks as the No. 2 batter in NCAA Division II, hitting .553 for the season. Through 32 games, she has 57 base hits, with nine doubles, seven triples, and eight homers for a 1.010 slugging percentage.

It is Smith, however, who holds the team slugging crown for the Mavericks, with 20 doubles and 14 home runs for a percentage of 1.046.  She bats second-best on the team at .472.

Sophomore third baseman Nicole Christensen and senior leadoff hitter and center fielder Brooke Doumer are each batting over .400 as well.

The target is now an even .500 record for an RMAC Tournament bid, and CSC will likely need to do what no team before them has done this season, and win multiple games against Mesa, to get there.

The doubleheaders begin at noon on Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday.