THIS WEEK'S MATCHUP

• The University of Colorado Colorado Springs softball team will open their conference slate against Chadron State College with a four-game series at Mountain Lion Field on Feb. 26-27.
• The series will begin with a doubleheader at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 26, followed by a doubleheader on Sunday, Feb. 27 with games at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

GAME COVERAGE

• Live stream and live stats links for the Mountain Lion's series against Chadron State can be found below.
  • Live Stream
  • Live Stats

LAST TIME OUT

• The Mountain Lions played a pair of doubleheaders at the LCU Softball Classic in Lubbock, Texas, on Feb. 12-13 and registered a 1-3 record at the tournament.
• The UCCS offense was silenced by Oklahoma Baptist University starting pitcher Kayleigh Jones in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader, getting no-hit in a 2-0 loss to the Bison. Braelyne Crenshaw was a tough-luck loser inside the circle for the Mountain Lions, throwing seven complete innings while striking out nine hitters and allowing just two unearned runs.
• The Mountain Lions would bounce back in game two of the doubleheader against University of Nebraska-Kearney, earning a 4-2 comeback victory on the heels of a go-ahead three-run home run off the bat of Peyton Reisman in the bottom of the fifth inning. Junior Gabrielle Cronin turned in six innings of one-run ball with four strikeouts before handing the ball off to freshman Mackenzie Rutkoff in the seventh inning to record the first save of her collegiate career.
• UCCS jumped out to a lead in game one on Sunday as they scored runs in the second, fourth and sixth innings to take a 3-0 lead over Eastern New Mexico University. The game would unravel in the bottom half of the sixth inning as the Greyhounds used five hits, four walks and a hit batter to put together an eight-run inning and jump ahead 8-3. The Mountain Lions mounted a comeback effort in their half of the seventh, scoring twice to cut the deficit to three runs, but were unable to make it all the way back as ENMU took the 8-5 win.
• In the final game of the LCU Softball Classic, UCCS ran into a tough opponent in the No. 4 nationally ranked Lady Buffs of West Texas A&M. The Lady Buffs were in control from the start, getting on the board first in the second inning before adding a pair of runs in the third and fourth innings and three more in the sixth to end the game, 8-0, via run-rule.

RMAC RECORD/STANDINGS

• Each of the conference's 12 teams will be in action this week for the start of RMAC play across the league.
• Colorado Christian University closed their non-conference slate with a 10-3 record, followed by Metropolitan State University Denver at 8-5 and Colorado Mesa University at 6-4. Colorado State University Pueblo also completed their brief non-conference slate with a perfect 3-0 record.

THE SERIES

• The Mountain Lions have recorded a 21-20 record all-time against Chadron State and a 4-4 record across the last eight meetings with the Eagles dating back to 2019.

SCOUTING CHADRON STATE COLLEGE

• The Eagles are off to a tough start to their 2022 campaign, dropping their first 10 games of the season while competing at the LCU Softball Classic and OC/UCO Tournament.
• On the offensive side, CSC has recorded a team batting average of .245 and are averaging 2.4 runs per game this season. Aliyah Rothstein leads the team with her .381 batting average and .458 on-base percentage, while J'lyssa Martinez has provided a power presence in the Eagles' lineup as the team-leader with 18 total bases, including three doubles, one triple and one home run.
• Inside the circle, Chadron State has pitched to an 8.69 ERA, allowing 72 earned runs in 58 innings pitched across the first 10 games of the season. Gabby Russell and Tia Kohl have combined to toss 50.2 innings for the Eagles, with Russell posting a team leading 4.87 ERA across 23 innings and Kohl putting up an 8.35 ERA in 27.2 innings pitched with a team-leading 20 strikeouts.

HOT TAKES

• The Mountain Lions' offense has put together a .265 team batting average through the first six games of the season and are getting on base at a .335 clip. The team has scored a total of 26 runs (4.33/game) while pounding out 40 hits, including 15 extra-base hits.
• Redshirt junior Sawyer Brewster, who continued her hot start to the season last week, continues to lead the team in batting average (.533), on-base percentage (.611) and OPS (1.211) as she has reached base in 11 of her 18 plate appearances thus far.
• Redshirt junior Peyton Reisman and freshman Paige White are tied for the team lead with two home runs each. Reisman also leads the team with eight RBIs, followed by White with six.
• Inside the circle, the Mountain Lions have compiled a team ERA of 4.71, allowing 26 earned runs across 38.2 innings pitched. UCCS pitchers have held opposing hitters to a .297 batting average while striking out 35 hitters and walking 22.
• Braelyne Crenshaw has been the staff workhorse, leading the team with 18.1 innings pitched and throwing two complete games in her first three starts of the season. The redshirt junior holds a 4.96 ERA for the season with 18 strikeouts.
• Freshman Mackenzie Rutkoff has posted a strong start to her first season at the collegiate ranks, throwing 4.1 innings for the Mountain Lions and allowing just one earned run for a 1.62 ERA.

UCCS UNDER HEAD COACH RICKI ROTHBAUER-STUBBS

• Ricki Rothbauer-Stubbs, who picked up her 200^th career Division II victory last season with a 9-7 win over Chadron State on March 8, enters her seventh season at the helm of the UCCS Softball program during the 2022 season. In her first six seasons as the head coach of the Mountain Lions, Rothbauer-Stubbs has collected 120 wins and made three appearances in the RMAC Tournament.
• During the 2021 season, Rothbauer-Stubbs coached two players to the All-RMAC team with Brianna Santos receiving First Team honors and Solana Martinez being named as an Honorable Mention. She also led her team to great academic success, as Santos was named to the RMAC All-Academic First Team and 13 more softball student-athletes were named to the Honor Roll.

WEATHER

• The weather at Mountain Lion Field for Saturday's game is shaping up to be sunny with a daytime high near 41 degrees and the possibility for 5 to 10 mph winds.
• Sunday's weather is forecasted to be much warmer with a high of 55 degrees and winds reaching as high as 10 mph.

UPCOMING GAMES

• UCCS will continue their conference schedule next week as they head to Spearfish, S.D., to play a four-game series against Black Hills State University.

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As a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs competes in 16 varsity sports in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics.