CONROE, Tex. – Chadron State concluded its first weekend of the 2026 season with an opportunity to compete against two of the best teams in the country, as the Eagles fell 11-1 to No. 1-ranked UT Tyler and 14-0 to No. 13-ranked Angelo State – both in five innings – to wrap up the DII First Pitch Invitational in Texas.
Against the UT Tyler Patriots, who are the two-time defending national champions, and the Angelo State Rambelles, who have allowed just nine runs in five games while starting 5-0, the Eagles were limited to just two hits against each team.
The big inning hurt CSC against both experienced opponents. The Eagles were tied with the top-ranked Patriots through two-and-a-half innings after
Elizabeth Thorngren's RBI single, but Tyler roared back with a 10-run bottom of the third to instantly put the game away. Against Angelo State, the Eagles gave up five runs in both the first and fourth innings as the Rambelles scored in every frame.
Belle Akins received the start in the circle against UT Tyler and worked around two baserunners to hold the Patriots scoreless in the first, then stranded two runners on with one out in the second to keep the score at 1-0 through two innings.
The Eagles tallied their run in the third by stringing their only two hits of the ballgame together. Catcher
Tiffani Mein hit a one-out double, her first hit and extra-base hit as an Eagle, before pinch-runner
Elia DeLozier scored on
Elizabeth Thorngren's two-out single to right field.
That single was Thorngren's fifth hit in as many games, but first RBI of the season. The senior from Broomfield, Colorado is leading the Eagles with a .417 batting average.
Three of the 10 runs scored by the Patriots in the third inning were unearned, but the home team had six consecutive singles at one point and recorded eight hits and two walks in the frame.
Against Angelo State, freshman
McKenna Sides battled through three innings before fellow freshman Brynn Trujilo pitched the fourth. The Rambelles had one five-run inning off each CSC pitcher. Three ASU players recorded three hit games, including preseason Lone Star Conference Player of the Year Tatiana Trotter, who had four RBI.
The Eagles' two hits were scattered in the second game –
Elia DeLozier singled with two outs in the first inning but then made an out on the bases to end the top of the first and Trujillo singled leading off the fifth but was erased on a game-ending double-play groundout.
The Eagles had three baserunners reach without a hit in the third.
Katelynn Czerpak worked a leadoff walk before
Brogan Allen hit a line drive double play to erase the baserunner.
Macie Selfors reached on an error and
Charley Pitrat was hit by a pitch, but Thorngren struck out to end the inning.
The Eagles conclude their Texas trip at 0-5. Next weekend, they will travel to the Wildcat Dome at Wayne State to play the Wildcats and Nebraska-Kearney two times apiece on February 7-8. Wayne State has yet to start its season while UNK is 3-2 after playing five California schools this weekend.
