CHADRON, Neb. – After a midweek nonconference win and a difficult home series, Chadron State will have a tough task this weekend as the Eagles face perennial RMAC power Colorado Christian in Lakewood, Colorado. 

The Eagles (9-17, 5-15 RMAC) will battle Colorado Christian (22-8, 18-2 RMAC) on Friday and Saturday. The two teams will play at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. on Friday, followed by 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Saturday, then will be off until the following Saturday, March 29. 

The games will be live streamed on the RMAC Network, with live stats available. 

Looking Back
Chadron State split a midweek nonconference series with in-state rivals Nebraska-Kearney before coming up short in a four-game sweep against MSU Denver, who is in second place in the RMAC.

RECAPS: Nebraska-Kearney | MSU Denver (Games 1-2) | MSU Denver (Game 3-4)

Brogan Allen hit a go-ahead solo home run to lift CSC to a 3-2 win over the Lopers. The Eagles endured a heartbreaking loss in the third game of the series, when a two-out seventh-inning error extended the game and allowed MSU Denver to hit a go-ahead grand slam and steal a 5-3 win. 

Brogan Bombs
From Monday, March 10 through Saturday, March 15, redshirt sophomore Brogan Allen went three consecutive game days with a home run. 

Allen, a Cheyenne, Wyoming native, hit her first home run of the season and her career in the third game of the series against Black Hills State, then went deep during Wednesday's doubleheader against Nebraska-Kearney and Saturday's series-opening doubleheader against MSU Denver. 

Allen has taken on an expanded role recently. She has appeared in 19 games this season but was a pinch-hitter for her first 14 appearances. She earned her first start of the season in the second game against UNK at third base and homered in that contest, then started both games on Sunday against MSU Denver as the designated player, going 0-for-3 while drawing three walks. 

This season, Allen has a .250 batting average, a .400 on-base percentage and a 1.100 OPS. Three of her five hits have been home runs. 

Top Four
The top four slots in Chadron State's order have done most of the Eagles' damage this season. 

Aliyah Rothstein has made the move to the leadoff spot for coach Robert Stack, hitting .348 on the season with seven multi-hit games and a .394 on-base percentage. J'lyssa Martinez has been a mainstay in the two-hole for CSC, leading the team and ranking eighth in the RMAC with a .429 batting average. 

Lauren Zimmerman and Ashland Baca have supplied the team's power. Zimmerman is tied for fourth in the RMAC with eight home runs on the season and ranks second on the team with a .378 batting average. Baca is hitting .368 and is the team leader in RBI (24). She also has four sacrifice flies on the season, tied for second in the RMAC. 

Overall, Chadron State is in a difficult stretch offensively. The Eagles have scored three runs or fewer in nine straight games entering this weekend's games. Thanks to a stronger start, the Eagles still rank eighth of 12 teams with a .274 batting average and a .350 on-base percentage as a team. 

The Eagles' pitching is keeping them in games, as CSC ranks seventh in the RMAC with a 3.77 ERA and a .316 batting average against.

Stat Snapshots
With 24 home runs on the season, Chadron State ranks fourth in the RMAC. The Eagles have had nine different players hit a home run and five players with multiple long balls.

Among individuals, J'lyssa Martinez ranks eighth in the league with a .429 batting average and is fourth in the RMAC with a .535 on-base percentage, boosted by her 15 walks which are tied for eighth in the conference. 

Lauren Zimmerman ranks tied for fourth in the RMAC in home runs (eight) and is 10^th in slugging percentage (.695). Ashland Baca is second in the league in sacrifice flies with four.  

On the pitching side, Tori Haug ranks fourth in the RMAC with 53 strikeouts. Among qualifying pitchers (at least 1 IP/team games played), Belle Akins has allowed the eighth-fewest hits, the second-fewest walks and tied for the fewest doubles with her teammate, Kenzi Garner.

Chadron State ranks seventh in the league with a .950 fielding percentage. Eagle catchers have thrown out seven base stealers in 43 attempts.

No-Hitter
On February 24, in her first career RMAC start, freshman pitcher Belle Akins threw a five-inning no-hitter against the New Mexico Highlands Cowgirls. 

The no-no is only the second in recorded history for the Eagles and the first since Christina Lewis threw one in the 2011 season. During her no-hitter, Akins allowed just two walks for the only baserunners of the day and struck out six Cowgirls, including the first and last hitters of the game. 

The following day, Akins was honored as the RMAC's Pitcher of the Week.

RMAC Polls
Chadron State was picked to finish 10^th in the 12-team RMAC in a preseason poll of the league's head coaches, who were not allowed to vote for their own team. The Eagles also finished 10^th in the RMAC last season with a 12-28 record in conference play. 

Defending league champion Colorado Mesa was picked to win the RMAC again this season, receiving eight of 12 first-place votes. Colorado Christian received two first-place votes and finished second in the poll while MSU Denver and Regis each got one first-place vote and came third and fourth, respectively. 

The final two RMAC Tournament positions according to the preseason poll went to CSU Pueblo in fifth and UCCS in sixth. The remainder of the poll featured Colorado School of Mines, Fort Lewis and Black Hills State ahead of the Eagles, while Chadron State finished above New Mexico Highlands and Adams State in preseason voting.

Scouting Colorado Christian
Colorado Christian is 22-8 overall and in first place in the RMAC standings with an 18-2 conference record. Both of CCU's RMAC losses have come in its last six games, as the Cougars won three of four from both Regis and Colorado School of Mines while previously sweeping New Mexico Highlands, UCCS and Fort Lewis. 

Offensively, the Cougars are led by sisters from Amarillo, Texas. Junior Leah Garcia leads the team with a .387 batting average while freshman Lauren Garcia is second, hitting .377. The Cougars have a balanced power attack, with seven players with multiple home runs, led by Leah Garcia with four. 

The Cougars hang their hat on elite pitching, with CCU's 2.14 ERA leading the RMAC by just over a full run. CCU has six shutouts in their 30 games. Senior Emma Duncan has a league-best 1.54 ERA and .205 opposing batting average while sophomore Elyse McMullin has a 2.58 ERA and six complete games in 11 starts. 

Head Coach Larry Hays joined CCU in 2018 and has led them to success, with three NCAA tournament appearances and two RMAC Tournament titles in 2022 and 2023. A longtime baseball coach at Lubbock Christian (1971-1986) and Division I Texas Tech University (1987-2008), Hays also won a softball NAIA national championship with Lubbock Christian in 2010.  

Coach's Corner
After previously serving as Chadron State's head softball coach from 2008-2017 and helping out the program as a coaching assistant for the past two seasons, Dr. Robert Stack will serve as CSC's Interim Softball Coach for the 2025 season. 

Stack has been a math professor at CSC for the past 26 years and was previously RMAC Coach of the Year in 2014. During Stack's head coaching career, he led an Eagles program that had not qualified for the RMAC Tournament prior to his tenure to four conference tournament appearances. Stack's teams set a new school record for wins in three of his last four seasons as coach (2014, 2016 and 2017), with the 32 wins by the 2017 team still standing as the program season high. 

Stack has also mentored two RMAC Pitchers of the Year (Casey Williams in 2010 and Tayler Hall in 2016) as well as two RMAC All-Academic Players of the Year (Williams in 2009 and Cassie Humphrey in 2010) and a two-time RMAC Summit Award winner (Breeze Phillips in 2014 and 2016).