CHADRON, Neb. – Chadron State softball will journey to Denver for the first of two road trips to Colorado's capital city when the Eagles take on MSU Denver on Saturday and Sunday for a four-game series.

Chadron State (3-22, 3-13 RMAC) and MSU Denver (20-6, 13-3 RMAC) will start their four-game series on Saturday at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. The series will conclude on Sunday at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. The Roadrunners will enter the four-game set on a 10-game winning streak spanning eight RMAC wins and a doubleheader sweep of Nebraska-Kearney on Tuesday.

A livestream of each game will be available on the RMAC Network with live stats available at chadroneagles.com. Any potential schedule changes will be communicated online and on social media (@ChadronState_SB on X/Twitter, @chadronstatesoftball on Instagram).  

Looking Back
Chadron State lost a four-game series at home to Black Hills State. The Yellow Jackets won 10-2 and 18-1 on day one and 13-11 and 8-0 on day two.

RECAPS: Saturday | Sunday

Black Hills State scored in every offensive inning of Saturday's doubleheader and put up 49 runs in the series as Chadron State was down to two pitchers due to health and availability by the end of the series. 

Offensive Outburst
Despite not coming away with the win, Chadron State had by far its best offensive game of the season on Sunday. 

The Eagles set new season-highs in runs (11), hits (15) and team batting average (.405) during a 13-11 loss in game three of the series, the opening game of Sunday's doubleheader. CSC also set a season single-game high with three doubles and tied a season single-game high with three extra-base hits. 

The 14 total runs scored by Chadron State over the course of their four-game series with BHSU is the second-most in a four-game yet this year by the Eagles, who scored 16 runs across four games in their RMAC-opening series against CSU Pueblo while taking two out of four from the ThunderWolves.

Freshman Contributor
Highlands Ranch, Colorado product Brianna Cordray has taken hold of the Eagles' third-base job as a true freshman. Cordray has played in 23 and started 22 of CSC's 25 games and has taken the fourth-most at-bats on the team (57). 

Cordray has six RBI this season, and four of those came this past weekend during the BHSU series. Cordray had three separate at-bats with an RBI during CSC's 11-run outburst on Sunday, scoring a run with an RBI groundout and driving home runs with singles in the fifth and seventh innings. 

The freshman also drove home the only run of CSC's 18-1 in game two of the series with an opposite-field single. Cordray hit .333 (3-for-9) over the weekend and is batting .228 with two doubles and a triple this season.

Quick Hits

• Pitcher Belle Akins leads the team with 59 innings pitched (12^th in RMAC). She is among the RMAC's strikeout leaders, ranking sixth in the league with 41 total K's and third in the league with 14 batters struck out looking.
• Akins is also part of a group that is tied for third in the RMAC with six complete games.
• Overall, Eagle pitching has done a good job with their control. Chadron State ranks sixth in the RMAC in strikeout-to-walk ratio (1.19) and sixth in fewest hit batters (11).
• The Eagles have shown a tendency to move runners over. They rank third in the RMAC in total sacrifice bunts (17). Tiffani Mein and Elizabeth Thorngren (four each) lead the team individually. 
• Primary leadoff hitter Charley Pitrat ranks tied for seventh in the RMAC in walks, drawing 15.
• The Eagles have six players with over 10 hits on the season – Tiffani Mein (16), Elizabeth Thorngren (15), Brianna Cordray (13), Charley Pitrat (12), Brogan Allen (11) and Elia DeLozier (11). Payton Sullivan and Katelynn Czerpak have nine hits each and are one hit away from joining that group.
• Mein, CSC's primary catcher, ranks tied for third in the RMAC with six baserunners caught stealing.
• CSC is 15^th in the RMAC in team batting average (.208), on-base percentage (.296) and slugging percentage (.276).
• The Eagles' team ERA of 7.31 ranks 13^th in the RMAC.

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.

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. 13. 

The Eagles are 0-1 against nationally ranked teams, losing to No. 10-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 Roadrunners
MSU Denver is second in the RMAC standings at 13-3 in conference play and are 20-6 overall. The Roadrunners were third in the league last season, just 1.5 games away from a regular-season title, and have finished second, third or fourth every season since 2021.

In RMAC play, the Roadrunners lost three of four to Colorado Mesa, but have swept Fort Lewis, Adams State and Colorado School of Mines. The sweeps of ASU and Mines plus a nonconference doubleheader win over Nebraska-Kearney on Tuesday have MSU Denver riding a 10-game win streak into Saturday's openers. 

MSU Denver ranks second in the league with a .351 team batting average and tied for second with 22 home runs. They are the top-fielding team in the conference with a .969 fielding percentage and rank fourth in the league with a 3.99 team ERA. 

Individually, the Roadrunners are led by Cheyenne Prieto, who is batting .567 (38-67) with a league-leading OPS of 1.538. Victoria Pearson bats .424, gets on base 50 percent of the time and is 15-for-18 in stolen bases, while six other players with over 40 at-bats are hitting over .300. 

In the circle, the Roadrunners have a one-two punch of Natalie Romero (3.09 ERA, six complete games, 63.1 IP) and Kianna Butler (4.15 ERA, 52.1 IP). Head coach Annie Van Wetzinga is in her 13^th season with MSU Denver and has four NCAA tournament berths (2014, 2015, 2016, 2025) and two RMAC Tournament titles (2014, 2016) on her resume.

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.