SPEARFISH, S.D.—The Black Hills State University softball team came into the back end of their four-game RMAC series with Chadron State confident. BHSU knew solid pitching would be the formula of success against the Eagles, which proved to be true during their 11-3 victory in game two on Saturday.
The Yellow Jackets held the Eagles under four runs in both games Sunday afternoon at Chadron State College. The other games BHSU held the opposition under five runs was a 3-2 loss at Fort Lewis College Feb. 20, and an 11-3 win at Chadron State yesterday.
Sunday afternoon's games reflected those results as BHSU fell to the Eagles 5-4 in game one and rebounded with a 9-4 victory in game two.
BHSU now sits with a 3-10, 2-6 RMAC record while Chadron State owns a 3-17, 3-5 RMAC mark.
Chadron State College 5, Yellow Jackets 4
The confidence that carried over into Sunday afternoon was evident and Alexis Shaffer was a huge reason why. Erica Everson singled and came around to score on Shaffer's two-run home run to make the score 2-0 in the third inning.
A big Chadron State five-run fourth inning destroyed that confidence. Katelyn Kruger set the tone in the fifth inning when she led off with a double. She came around to score on Shea Graham's single to narrow the margin to 2-1.
The Eagles took the lead for good when Courtney Lecher crushed a three-run home run to make the score 4-2. Casey Polk put the cherry on top with she drove in Amanda Einspahr with a single to extend the score to 5-2.
Alexis Shaffer made the score 5-3 in the fifth inning with an RBI-double that scored Everson.
Katherine Drake put BHSU within one run in the sixth inning on a Chadron State error to narrow the margin to 5-4.
Drake, Everson, and Shaffer each registered two hits for the Yellow Jackets. Kaitlin Farrar took the loss on the rubber for BHSU; she gave up five runs on ten hits in 4.0 innings of work.
Yellow Jackets 9, Chadron State College 4
Home runs proved to be the remedy in this outing. Shaffer did the honors with a bomb in the second inning to give the Yellow Jackets a 1-0 lead.
Everson and Shaffer hit back-to-back bombs in the third inning to extend the BHSU lead to 3-0. Chadron State cut the score within one in the bottom of the third inning when Zoe Humphries torched a two-run home run to make the score 3-2.
A string of BHSU hits produced five fourth inning runs for the women in green and gold. Back-to-back RBI-singles from Drake and Everson pushed the BHSU lead to 5-2. A Kelsea Nash RBI-walk followed by a Katie Campo two-run double made the score 8-2.
Jessica Eatmon added a two-run home run for the Eagles in the fifth inning to narrow the gap to 8-4.
Shumpert came around to score on an Eagle error to extend the BHSU lead to 9-4 in the seventh inning.
Carlee Beck turned in another solid performance in the circle for the Yellow Jackets. She surrendered four runs on nine hits in a complete game effort.
The Yellow Jackets will travel to Alamosa, Colo. on Saturday, Mar. 14. They will play Colorado Mines at 12:00 p.m. and Adams State at 2:00 p.m.
