CHADRON, Neb. – After closing their home-opening series with a gritty win against a quality opponent, Chadron State softball will remain on their home field against regional rivals Black Hills State this Friday and Saturday. 

The Eagles (3-18, 3-9 RMAC) will battle with the Yellow Jackets (9-14, 6-6 RMAC) at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. Friday, followed by an 11 a.m./1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday.

A livestream of each game will be available on the RMAC Network with live stats available at chadroneagles.com. Friday's games will also have a radio livestream at Double Q Country and doubleqcountry.com, with Dave Collins on the call. Any potential schedule changes will be communicated online and on social media (@ChadronState_SB on X/Twitter, @chadronstatesoftball on Instagram).  

Promotional Notes
This weekend's games were previously moved from Saturday and Sunday due to weather forecasts in the Chadron area for Sunday. 

As a result of the change, Chadron State athletics will be offering free admission for Friday's doubleheader. Admission will be charged on Saturday. 

Saturday also marks Chadron State softball's cancer awareness games. As part of the Saturday pregame, Chadron State will honor Scott Sebbo, the father of current player Madison Sebbo and CSC softball commit Mylee Sebbo who recently lost a battle with colon cancer. 

Fred Hunn, a Chadron State graduate currently battling brain cancer who is the husband of CSC professor Dr. Lorie Hunn, will be on hand to throw out a ceremonial first pitch. 

The softball program will also be collecting donations at the game which will be gifted to charities benefitting brain cancer and colon cancer research. 

Looking Back
Playing in Chadron for the first time this season, CSC dropped the first three games of a four-game set with UCCS – 11-0, 10-2 and 9-2 – before earning a 4-3 victory in the series finale.

RECAPS: Saturday | Sunday

Charley Pitrat keyed a CSC comeback in game four, hitting a three-run double in the bottom of the sixth inning to give the Eagles a 4-2 lead. Belle Akins, who earned a complete-game victory and struck out eight, worked around a leadoff home run in the seventh to strand the tying and go-ahead runners on base with her final strikeout to end the game.

The victory during Sunday's nightgame snapped a seven-game losing streak for CSC.

RMAC Network Reminder
As a reminder, RMAC Network games this season now require a pay-per-view subscription to watch. Revenue generated by the network will be redistributed to the league's membership to enhance their broadcast systems and programs.
 
NEWS: RMAC Network Moves To Pay-Per-View Model
 
RMAC fans can purchase monthly and annual subscriptions that will provide them access to all regular-season, championship, and archived broadcasts on the RMAC Network, including both home and away RMAC contests for Chadron State. A monthly subscription costs $25, and an annual subscription (for all sports) costs $130. Single-game passes are available for $10, which grants the viewer access to a single game for 24 hours. Subscriptions can be purchased through Hudl at rmacnetwork.com. 
 
RMAC Network subscriptions apply to any game that is hosted by an RMAC institution, regardless of whether or not Chadron State is playing in the game. CSC's home nonconference games are included in monthly and annual subscriptions. 
 
Fans will technical support issues can contact Hudl, visit the RMAC email the RMAC Network FAQ page, or directly email the RMAC at rmac@rmacsports.org.

Tight Margins
With another one-run game going the Eagles' way last week, Chadron State is now 3-4 in one-run contests this season. 

That means that not only have all of Chadron State's wins been one-run ballgames, but also that 7 of 21 games (33 percent) so far in 2026 have – win or lose – been decided by the minimum margin of victory. 

In the month of March, three of Chadron State's six games played have been decided by just a run, with the Eagles going 1-2 in those matchups. 

Backstop Bat
Tiffani Mein, a junior catcher who transferred to CSC this year from Colby Community College, started all four games of a series behind the plate for the first time this season and had a big offensive weekend. 

Mein hit .500 (4-8) against UCCS, but showed an ability to drive the baseball despite a strong wind blowing in from center field. Three of Mein's four hits went for extra bases (two doubles and a home run). 

The homer, which was a two-run blast in game three of the series on Sunday, was Mein's second of the year. That makes the junior the first Eagle this season with multiple home runs, as she was previously one of five players (alongside Elizabeth Thorngren, Brogan Allen, Charley Pitrat and Payton Sullivan) to leave the yard once this season.

Mein is now batting .344 on the year, just behind Elia DeLozier (.345) for the team lead among qualified hitters. Mein leads qualifying CSC hitters in on-base percentage (.417) and slugging percentage (.625). 

Leadoff Hitter
Charley Pitrat, the only Chadron State player to appear in every game so far this season, has established herself at the top of Skye Koehl's lineup. 

Pitrat, a junior who played in the juco ranks for Yavapai College prior to joining the Eagles, ranks sixth in the RMAC with 13 walks drawn this season. The patient approach has Pitrat with an on-base percentage of .343 despite not hitting for average, batting 9-53 to start the season.

Pitrat has been playing shortstop defensively, but will likely shift back to second base when Macie Selfors returns from injury.

In the Polls
The Eagles were picked 11^th in the RMAC Preseason Poll, one year after finishing ninth.

Colorado Christian, the reigning RMAC regular season and tournament champs, were picked to win the league again, receiving 7 of 12 first-place votes. Colorado Mesa placed second in the poll, receiving three first-place votes, while MSU Denver came third and garnered the other two first-place votes. 

The rest of the poll features UCCS, CSU Pueblo, Colorado School of Mines, Black Hills State and Regis rounding out the top eight. Chadron State is scheduled to host six of the top seven teams in the preseason poll at home this season.

New Mexico Highlands, Fort Lewis, the Eagles and Adams State rounded out the poll.

In the national polls, the RMAC has one nationally-ranked program – Colorado Christian at No. 17. 

The Eagles are 0-1 against nationally ranked teams, losing to No. 7-ranked Angelo State. Chadron State has also faced two-time defending national champions UT Tyler, who were No. 1 in the country at the time of the game against CSC, but the Patriots have since fallen out of the rankings.

Scouting the Yellow Jackets
Black Hills State is 9-14 overall and an even 6-6 in RMAC play. The Yellow Jackets split with Adams State, lost three of four to CSU Pueblo, then took three of four from New Mexico Highlands. 

The Spearfish school is coming off arguably their best-ever season after the Yellow Jackets made the RMAC Tournament for the first time in program history and achieved a winning season for the first time in 16 years in 2025 while head coach Ashlyn Englehorn was named RMAC Coach of the Year. The Yellow Jackets were picked seventh in the RMAC Preseason Coaches Poll, their highest-ever preseason ranking.

Last season, BHSU also featured the 2025 RMAC Pitcher of the Year in Laci Peskey, but Peskey has since transferred to top 10 ranked West Texas A&M. BHSU may have a replacement, however, in Central Lakes College transfer Kaitlyn Geschwill, who won RMAC Pitcher of the Week during the first weekend of the season. Geschwill has a 4.27 ERA in 57.1 innings pitched and leads the RMAC with 65 strikeouts. 

Offensively, the Yellow Jackets feature five hitters batting .300 in over 60 at-bats, led by Desi Hernandez (.367 AVG), Carly Reyes Mims (.347 AVG, .489 OBP, 3 HR) and Sammie Kaufman-Warner (.315 AVG, team-high 21 RBI).

Coach's Corner
Skye Koehl (pronounced "kale") is in his first season in charge of the Chadron State program.

Koehl joins CSC after two seasons as the head coach at Otero Junior College in La Junta, Colorado. Her teams placed second and third in NJCAA Region 9 during her two seasons in charge. 

As a player, Koehl won a junior college national championship with Temple College (Tex.) before transferring to Division I Texas A&M-Corpus Christi for her final three seasons.