COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Chadron State softball lost the lead twice in the sixth inning, coming up short 8-5 and 11-10 in a doubleheader against the UCCS Mountain Lions to conclude a doubleheader in Colorado Springs. 

UCCS scored five in the sixth inning of game one to overcome a 5-3 deficit, then scored twice in the sixth inning of game two to pull ahead by the 11-10 final margin. During the Mountain Lions' four-game sweep of the Eagles, UCCS trailed by three runs or more in three of the four games. 

With the two losses, the Eagles are now 7-9 overall with a 4-8 record in RMAC play. UCCS improved to 11-9 overall and 6-6 in the RMAC. 

Chadron State had plenty of offensive stars. J'lyssa Martinez had three RBI and four runs scored on the day while Ashland Baca had five RBIs in game two alone and Elizabeth Thorngren chipped in her first home run of the season. 

But Chadron State's pitching, which had been a strength over the season's first three weeks, couldn't hold late leads in either contest as the Eagles allowed an average of 9.25 runs per game across the series. 

Chadron State had fast offensive starts in both games. The Eagles picked up one run in the first on an RBI groundout from Baca before mounting a two-out rally in the second. With two out and nobody out, Elizabeth Thorngren walked a walk before Katelyn Czerpak and Aliyah Rothstein hit back-to-back singles to load the bases for J'lyssa Martinez, who promptly cleared them with a triple that put CSC up 4-1. 

The Eagles made just one error across Monday's two games, but their defense let them down at costly moments in the sixth. With a 5-3 lead, pitcher Tori Haug got a one-out strikeout, but the runner reached on a passed ball and back-to-back singles brought home a run. 

With two outs and the bases loaded, the Eagles committed an error which allowed a run to score on the play, but more importantly, continued the inning for the next batter to double home three runs and give UCCS an 8-5 lead. That was the final batter for Haug, who ended up with a final line of 5.2 innings pitched and gave up nine hits and eight runs, but just three earned. 

In game two, the Eagles jumped all over UCCS pitcher Hannah Hunt, who had pitched a complete-game shutout the day before. After a one-out walk and single, Ashland Baca got the Eagles on the board with an RBI single. A throwing error brought home a second run before a two-run double from Sydney Loyet and an RBI single from Thorngren made it 5-0 Eagles in the top of the first. 

CSC had another big inning in the fourth, with back-to-back leadoff singles from Rothstein and Martinez before Baca crushed a three-run homer to left to make it 9-5. UCCS chipped away, however, scoring three-spots in both the third and fourth innings to trail by one run at 9-8 after four complete innings. 

The Mountain Lions mounted another game-winning rally with two outs and nobody aboard in the sixth against relief pitcher Belle Akins, with two singles sandwiched around a triple to give UCCS an 11-10 lead. The Eagles had a chance in the seventh with a leadoff single, but when CSC laid down a sacrifice bunt, UCCS got the out at first before alertly firing to second to pick off the runner, who had taken too wide of a turn, for a double play to effectively end the threat. 

Chadron State will remain on the road next week, taking on Black Hills State in Spearfish on Saturday and Sunday. First pitch Saturday is set for 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.