A freezing temperature forecast for Saturday prompted a change in the Chadron State College softball schedule, for this week’s clash with Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference powerhouse Colorado Christian University. The pair doubleheaders will begin Thursday, rather than Friday as initially scheduled due to the holiday weekend.
CCU, now 28-3 (19-1 RMAC), opened the season winning 18 consecutive league games. The Cougars swept New Mexico Highlands, Fort Lewis, Black Hills State, and MSU Denver, before going 3-1 at home versus the University of Colorado Colorado Springs.
The series reproduces the 2017 RMAC Tournament elimination semifinal game, where Ellie Owens, then a freshman, homered and scored the winning run off a Taylor Bauer triple to defeat the sixth-seeded Cougars 2-1. The fourth-seeded Eagles’ were eliminated one game from the championship final by the runner-up Colorado Mines. Owens was named to the All-Tournament Team.
The 2015 RMAC Pitcher of the Year and Freshman of the Year, Kenzie Mattey, leads her team into the series with 15-2 record in the pitching circle. The Parker, Colorado, native began her career at MSU Denver before transferring, sitting out one season, and starting for the Cougars in 2017. Now a junior, Mattey holds a 3.65 earned run average and allows opponents a .201 batting average. She has recorded exactly 100 strikeouts already, in just over 100 innings of work.
Another of CCU’s superstars is Charlotte Romero, the 2016 NFCA Freshman of the Year for all of NCAA Division II. That year, Romero recorded a .479 average at the plate, over the entire season, with 39 RBI and 35 runs scored, and was named First Team All-America. After a sophomore slump saw her hit a more modest .303, she is back with a big bat again in 2018, leading the team with a .451 average and a .562 on-base percentage.
A whopping six CCU batters average .400 or better, and two others are less than a hundredth away from that mark.
The sister of Charlotte Romero, Jennifer, is the team’s number two pitcher as a true freshman, and has held her own in this league known for its power hitting. She has a 12-1 record for the season and an ERA of 5.01.
Chadron State hopes to continue its late trend of playing solid defense. The Eagles, who notched their first series win of the season last Saturday against Black Hills State, committed only one soft error in the four games at a neutral field in Gillette, Wyoming.
First pitch on Thursday is set for noon, and Friday’s action begins at 11 a.m.