CHADRON – The Chadron State College softball team can move a little closer to clinching the program’s second appearance in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament this weekend as it hosts a four-game series against New Mexico Highlands University.

The teams were originally scheduled for doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday, but were moved up a day because of weather forecasts for rain and cool temperatures on Sunday.  Friday’s doubleheader begins at noon while tomorrow’s games start at 11 a.m. We will have tomorrow’s games here on panhandlepost.com.

Chadron State is 16-18 overall and 13-9 in the RMAC after splitting 4 games with CSU-Pueblo last week. They’re in 7th place in the league, but only 2-1/2 games out of first while having a 3-game bulge on Regis, currently holding the 8th and final tournament spot, and Colorado Christian…which trails Regis by percentage points.

New Mexico Highlands is next-to-last at 7-18 and 11-25 overall. The Cowgirls were swept last weekend in a pod series with Colorado-Colorado Springs and Metro State, giving them a 6-game losing streak immediately after winning 6 straight.

NMHU is hitting .306 as a team with 5 regulars hitting over .350, led by Jessica Brink at .381 with 6 home runs. Following close behind are Jacquelyn Wood (.373), Annie Reynolds (.367), and Amber Cordero (.366).

Brink and Woods are also their top 2 pitchers. Wood is 6-10 with a 5.58 ERA, but just 25 strikeouts against 32 walks in 80.3 innings.  Brink has 66 strikeouts and 29 walks in 106.7 innings, but is 5-13 with a 5.78 ERA. As a team, the Cowgirls’ pitchers have a 6.51 ERA with 115 strikeouts and 92 walks.

CSC, on the other hand, has a team ERA of 4.71 but with similar strikeout and walk numbers…117-89 in 7 fewer innings. The Eagle hitters are dead last in the league in average at .256 and runs with 134, but have walked more times than all but 2 other teams and are tied for 2nd in home runs with 38.

The Eagles (16-18 overall, 13-9 RMAC) split four games last weekend with the RMAC leading CSU-Pueblo. Chadron State is currently ranked seventh in the RMAC standings but only two games out of first place.

Two freshmen lead the Eagles in batting average,  Zoe Humphries (.375) and Taylor Bauer (.333), but they’re the only ones over .300. Senior Katie Londo has raised her average more than 140 points in the last 3 weeks and sits at .283 while leading the team with 11 home runs and 18 RBIs.

Senior pitcher Kylee Polsley is having a strong season. She’s second in the RMAC with a 9-6 average and a 3.89 ERA for the season, but has been dominant in league play at 8-2 with a 3.40 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 72 innings.