DENVER – Chadron State used the long ball in key spots to earn a doubleheader sweep of the Regis Rangers, earning a 16-3 run-rule victory followed by a 6-2 comeback win on Friday in Denver. 

Playing as the home team in Regis's ballpark after the series was moved from Chadron due to weather, CSC only needed four innings to put up a season-high 16 runs in the first game of the day, then rallied with a five-run sixth inning to stun the Rangers in the nightcap. 

Each time, home runs played a role. Sophia Brennan crushed two home runs in her first two at-bats of the opening game of the series, finishing with seven RBI, to help CSC race out to a 10-0 lead after two innings of play. 

Then, in game two, Brogan Allen and Lauren Zimmerman hit fifth and sixth-inning bombs, respectively, to turn a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 lead before the Eagles strung hits together to add on. 

Beyond the offensive fireworks, Chadron State's pitching did not allow an earned run through the two games. Tori Haug pitched a five-inning complete game one, scattering six hits with four strikeouts, before Kenzi Garner also threw five innings and gave up two unearned in game two. Belle Akins escaped a sixth-inning jam and ended up with the win in relief after CSC's rally, pitching two one-hit innings. 

With the two victories, Chadron State is now 11-21 and improved to 7-19 in RMAC play. Regis fell to 12-23 overall and 11-15 in conference. The wins snap an eight-game losing streak for CSC and marked just the second RMAC doubleheader sweep of the season for the Eagles. 

Chadron State scored early and often in the first game. After three singles and a wild pitch produced a run, Brennan hit a full-count, two-out, three-run home run to stake CSC to a 4-0 lead in the first inning. The Eagles catcher, who entered the game with two home runs on the season, fully doubled her total just an inning later.
After Elizabeth Thorngren and Katelynn Czerpak set the table with singles, Aliyah Rothstein drove home a run with a sacrifice fly. Jazlyn Arvizo singled and Lauren Zimmerman walked to load the bases for Ashland Baca, who bounced into an RBI fielder's choice to make it 6-0. 

Brogan Allen singled to load the bases, bringing up Brennan with the bases juiced. This time, Brennan wasted no time, swinging on the first pitch and crushing a grand slam to left field to put the Eagles up 10-0. The blast gave Brennan seven RBI through 1.2 innings, just one off the single-game program record of eight held by current assistant coach Kayla Campuzano. 

Haug cruised, giving up only a three-run home run in the third after a two-out error extended the inning. The senior struck out four and walked just one while improving her record to 5-10. The Eagles completed the rout by scoring one in the third and five in the fourth. 

In game two, Regis scored two unearned runs in the top of the fifth to take the lead before Allen brought the Eagles within one with a solo blast in the bottom of the inning. In the top of the sixth, a leadoff single and double put two runners on with no out, and the Eagles went to freshman Belle Akins out of the bullpen, ending Garner's day after five-plus innings allowing seven hits, no walks, a strikeout and zero earned runs. 

Akins clutched up, coaxing a shallow flyout and a strikeout before fielding a comebacker for the third out of the inning. The Eagles capitalized on the momentum swing immediately with a five-run sixth inning to turn the tide. 

With one out, Jazlyn Arvizo walked to set the stage for Zimmerman, who crushed her team-leading ninth home run to give CSC a 3-2 lead. The Eagles added on key insurance with an RBI double by Brogan Allen and two-out RBI singles by Angelina Quezada and J'lyssa Martinez. 

The two teams will resume their four game series on Saturday morning at the Regis softball field, with game times currently set for 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.