CHADRON, NE- The Cougars headed to Nebraska on Thursday for a doubleheader against Chadron State. CCU continued their winning ways, sending their streak to 10 straight victories with wins of 11-2 and 6-2 over the Eagles.
GAME ONE
Colorado Christian was opportunistic in the first inning, as
Sami Edwards notched an RBI groundout and
Kenzie Middleton scored on an error. After a few innings where neither team scored, the floodgates opened in the fourth for the Cougars offense.
Leah Garcia made it 5-0 with one swing as she launched a three-run homer. Kenzie singled in another run before
Kaila Eastburn broke things open entirely. With a pair of runners on, the graduate student unloaded on a ball for a three-run bomb of her own.
The Eagles plated a run in the fourth, but
Elyse McMullin got the run back with an RBI triple, and
Camryn Quilling tallied an RBI groundout to make it 11-1. A fifth inning run did not change the result as CCU rolled their way to an 11-2 victory in run-rule fashion.
Hanna Espinoza continued to impress as she improved to 9-0 on the season with four innings of one-hit ball. The two three-run home runs from Garcia and Eastburn powered the offense in the dominant win.
GAME TWO
The second contest of the day took on a different complexion than the first as the Eagles pitched well for the majority of the game and held the Cougars at bay. Chadron State scored a run in the first and third, and they took a 2-0 lead into the fifth inning.
Garcia got the rally started with a solo homer for her second long ball of the day. The game breaker came off the bat of
Kayla Middleton as she blasted a a three-run homer to right center to make it 4-2.
Samaria Roope then ripped a two-run double to stretch the lead to 6-2. The pitching settled in from there, shutting down the Eagles to seal a 6-2 win for the visitors.
Eastburn picked up the win with six innings pitched while fanning six batters.
Emma Duncan closed in the final inning to cap the victory. It was another three-run bomb that propelled the Cougars to victory as Kayla launched the pivotal homer in game two.
Colorado Christian will close their four-game set at Chadron State on March 29 at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. MST.
