PUEBLO, Colo. – For the second day in a row, Chadron State rebounded from a loss in the first game to earn a walk-off victory in the second game, with Sophia Brennan playing the game-winning hero as Chadron State split with CSU Pueblo on Sunday.

The ThunderWolves, playing in their home ballpark but as the scoreboard visitors after the games were moved from Chadron due to snow, defeated the Eagles soundly 17-6 in the opener before the Eagles triumphed 4-3 in eight innings in the nightcap. 

The conference season-opening split puts both teams at 2-2 in the RMAC. Chadron State is 2-11 overall while the ThunderWolves are 6-8. 
Sophomore Belle Akins earned her first win of the season in the circle, throwing an eight-inning complete game while giving up three runs on eight hits with two strikeouts while Chadron State used speed in the early part of the game and power late to provide runs.

The Eagles gave Akins run support immediately when leadoff hitter Charley Pitrat walked, stole second and took third on a wild pitch before Elizabeth Thorngren laid down a bunt and beat it out for an infield single to score her. 

Although Pueblo tied it 1-1 in the top of the third, the Eagles stole a run in the bottom half when, with runners on first and second and two outs, the CSUP pitcher fumbled a slow ground ball up the first base line hit by Brogan Allen to load the bases and Lani Davis took advantage of a sleeping Pueblo defense to sprint home while the ThunderWolves were turned away from the play. 

Allen hit the ball a bit farther to drive home CSC's third run, sending a no-doubter deep to left-center field leading off the bottom of the sixth for her first bomb of the season. That tied the score after Pueblo had scored single runs in both the fifth and sixth innings to take a 3-2 lead. 

In extra-innings, Akins held the ThunderWolves at bay by working around a one-out single. In the bottom half, pinch-hitter Payton Sullivan led off with a walk against Pueblo's McKenna James and was lifted for the re-entering Katelynn Czerpak to pinch-run.

With one out, Allen hit a grounder to short on the first pitch and Czerpak broke for third. The Pueblo shortstop fielded the ball, initially moved towards third to throw the ball there, and lost her balance while changing her mind and resetting her feet to throw to first, which was ruled as an error. 

That brought Sophia Brennan to the plate. Coach Skye Koehl put the squeeze on on the first pitch, but Brennan fouled off the pitch and soon found herself down 0-2. The junior catcher got a pitch she could handle despite the pitcher's count and muscled a soft line drive over the outstretched glove of shortstop to easily score Czerpak from third. 

The walk-off win salvaged a game-one performance that saw the ThunderWolves lead 4-1 after three innings and score six in the fourth and five in the seventh to pile on late. CSC split the game between two freshman pitchers – McKenna Sides (3.2 IP, 11 ER) and Brynn Trujillo (3.1 IP, 6 ER). 

Offensively in the losing effort in game one, Elizabeth Thorngren hit her first home run of the season and drove home a second run on a sacrifice fly while Katelynn Czerpak hit a two-run double. 

Chadron State will be on the road next week to face New Mexico Highlands. The matchup is set for Saturday and Sunday, February 28 and March 1.