CHADRON, Neb. – Chadron State softball is set to take the field at their home diamond for the first time in 2026 when they welcome UCCS for a four-game series in Chadron this Saturday and Sunday.

The Eagles (2-15, 2-6 RMAC) will battle the Mountain Lions (8-9, 2-6 RMAC) at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday, followed by 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. games on Sunday. 

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 suffered a four-game sweep at the hands of New Mexico Highlands last week, but were in every game as they fell four times by only a combined six runs.

RECAPS: Saturday | Sunday

The nail-biting losses included a 3-2 10-inning loss and a 1-0 heartbreaker in the final two games of the series last Sunday. The highest-scoring game for both teams was a 7-5 decision in game two on Saturday, when Highlands took a 7-0 lead after four innings and Chadron State answered with five runs in the sixth, but could not complete the comeback. 

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.

Home Cooking
Chadron State softball has historically performed well on its home field. Last season, the Eagles had a winning record at home, going 10-6 in Chadron, compared to a 9-22 record in true road games. 

The Eagles also had a winning home record in 2023 (16-11) and had a better home winning percentage than road winning percentage in 2022 and 2021. 

While the Eagles have yet to play a game in Chadron this season, "home" games have already been kinder to CSC. Chadron State's two wins this season both came against CSU Pueblo when the Eagles were the designated home team. The games were played in Pueblo due to weather in Chadron, but the Eagles took advantage of batting last, winning both games in walk-off fashion.

Stepping Up
Chadron State's top offensive players through 17 games are a pair of returners who are participating in significantly expanded roles compared to last season.

Elia DeLozier, a sophomore outfielder from Parker, Colorado, leads the Eagles with a .391 batting average and a .440 on-base percentage. DeLozier's big offensive weekend came during the triangular with Nebraska-Kearney and Wayne State, when she batted 8-for-12 in four games on February 7-8.

DeLozier has gotten to handle the bat more this season after primarily appearing as a pinch-runner as a true freshman, when she saw the field in 40 games but took just five at-bats.

Elizabeth Thorngren is CSC's current offensive leader in hits (10), extra-base hits (three, two doubles and a home run) and RBI (eight). Thorngren is second among qualifying CSC hitters with a .238 average (qualifying hitters means the player averages over two plate appearances per game played). 

In 2025, Thorngren, played in 43 games and started 29, frequently batting towards the bottom of the order rather than the top. She slashed .219/.337/.342 and, in 2026, has already matched her 2025 total of one home run and nearly matched her 2025 total of 10 RBI. 

One-Two Punch
The Eagles have two primary pitchers emerging as sophomore Belle Akins (5.81 ERA, 47 IP) and freshman Brynn Trujillo (5.08 ERA, 30.1 IP) both have an ERA under six. 

Akins ranks fourth in the RMAC in strikeouts, with 31, and is tied for the league lead with 10 strikeouts looking. She also is fifth in the conference with her 47 innings pitched. Trujillo has 25 punchouts, which is also within the conference's top 10. 

Both hurlers have been counted on by head coach Skye Koehl to go deep into games. Akins has gone the distance in five of her seven starts, including last weekend when she pitched all 9.1 innings of the extra-inning loss to NMHU. While Trujillo has been used to put out fires and has come out of the bullpen for six of her eight appearances, she has thrown complete games in both of her collegiate starts.

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 Mountain Lions
The Mountain Lions of the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs are 8-9 overall with a 2-6 RMAC mark that matches CSC's conference record. UCCS started the year with a strong 4-1 week in Texas, defeating Sul Ross State twice as well as UTPB and Western New Mexico while losing to No. 8 West Texas A&M. 

In RMAC play, the Mountain Lions went 2-2 in the first week against Colorado School of Mines, splitting both Saturday's and Sunday's doubleheader. Last week, UCCS went 0-4 against No. 18 Colorado Christian, dropping 10-7 and 10-6 games on Saturday before losing 10-1 and 4-0 on Sunday. 

UCCS has a player on fire offensively in senior Alyssa Gutierrez, who is batting .593 (16-27) with a .633 on-base percentage. Junior Jennavieve Goldsworth combines power and speed, hitting .475 with five doubles and three home runs while going a perfect 14-for-14 on stolen base attempts. Three other players who have started every game for UCCS (Gianna Pancost, Jacqueline Berkowitz, Mackenzie Scott) are batting over .300. 

Autumn Kunze is UCCS's main arm, pitching to a 4.03 ERA with 40 IP. Four other pitchers have thrown between 14 and 23 innings for the Mountain Lions, but have combined for a 4-7 record while Kunze is 4-2. UCCS leads the RMAC in team batting average at .339 but has only the ninth-best team ERA at 6.28.

UCCS head coach Dwight Sanders is in his third season at the helm of the Mountain Lions. Last season, UCCS went on a run to the RMAC Tournament championship game, winning three games in the tournament for the first time since 2006. Prior to UCCS, Sanders coached at RMAC foe Fort Lewis for two seasons and was at Otero Junior College for five years, the same school that current CSC head coach Skye Koehl piloted prior to the Eagles.

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.