PUEBLO, Colo. – Chadron State softball rebounded from a game one loss to walk off the CSU Pueblo ThunderWolves 6-5 in the second game of the doubleheader, earning a split on the first RMAC gameday of the season and the first win of 2025-26 for CSC.

While Pueblo won the opener 8-0 in five innings, the Eagles rallied from 5-2 down after four-and-a-half to win the second game in walk-off fashion. In that game, true freshman Brynn Trujillo earned the win in relief by pitching 2.2 shutout innings with one hit and five strikeouts, then swatted a walk-off single to left field to set off celebrations from the Eagle bench. 

The Eagles were able to earn a walk-off win in Pueblo's ballpark because they were still playing as the designated home team in games that were originally scheduled to be in Chadron this weekend but were moved due to snow. 

Pueblo pitcher McKenna James kept the Eagle lineup in check in game one, holding CSC to just one hit and seven strikeouts across five innings, but the Eagles mounted the winning run off James in relief in the next game.

In game two, CSU Pueblo took three leads only for the Eagles to answer each time. The ThunderWolves hit a solo home run on the second batter of the game against starter McKenna Sides, but CSC responded in the bottom of the first with a leadoff double from Charley Pitrat, who scored on a one-out single by Payton Sullivan.

A sacrifice fly gave Pueblo a 2-1 lead after three innings, but Tiffani Mein answered with one out in the bottom of the fourth, hitting a solo home run to deep center field, her first homer and third RBI off the season. Pueblo appeared to make a move by going up 5-2 on a three-run homer in the fifth inning, chasing Sides before Trujillo came out of the bullpen to record the final two outs. 

In the bottom of the fifth, the Eagles placed two runners on with one out via a walk, a fielder's choice and an error. Elizabeth Thorngren laid down a bunt, but a throwing error on the pitcher allowed one run to score before a wild pitch to the next batter brought a second run home. 

Mein came through again for her second RBI, tying the score with a ground ball up the middle for a base hit, scoring Thorngren from second and creating another new ballgame at 5-5. 

After Pueblo got out of the inning, they turned to their ace, James, in relief, and she struck out the side in the bottom of the sixth. Trujillo matched zeroes and punchouts, however, punching out two Pueblo batters apiece in the sixth and seventh inning, striking out three of the four looking. 

In the bottom of the seventh, errors bit the ThunderWolves again. James tallied her fourth consecutive strikeout to open the frame, but Payton Sullivan on a fielding error from the CSUP shortstop before Thorngren went to the well again, laying down a bunt that James threw up the right field line to put runners on the corners. 

That brought up Trujillo, who took a first-pitch strike before hitting a bullet through the left side that one-hopped into the left fielder's glove, scoring Sullivan easily from third base. The win snaps a 10-game season-opening losing streak and is the first NCAA head coaching win for Skye Koehl.

The two teams will continue their series tomorrow with games set for 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.