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Austin Rycroft

Rycroft Homer Lifts Bronchos

Austin Rycroft
Box Score

CHICKASHA, Okla. (March 1) – Austin Rycroft belted a solo home run in the top of the 10th inning to lift Central Oklahoma to a 9-8 victory over Science and Arts of Oklahoma here Tuesday as the Bronchos ended a four-game losing streak.

The Drovers had rallied with two runs in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game and force extra innings but Rycroft's sixth homer of the season with one out in the top of the 10th broke the deadlock and Derek Bell put USAO down in order in its final at bat to nail down the win.

“It was a hard fought, ugly game but you can't do better than a win and we'll take it,” UCO coach Dax Leone said. “We just have to keep moving forward and try to get better every day.”

The Bronchos improved to 5-9 with the victory while dropped USAO to 9-5. UCO returns to Lone Star Conference play with a three-game series against Incarnate Word this weekend, playing a 1 p.m. doubleheader Friday and a 1 p.m. single game Saturday.

Tyler Hancock and Arrow Cunningham had three hits apiece to pace a 15-hit attack, with Rycroft, Keegan Morrow and Mike Boyle adding two hits each. Matt Martzall was one of four UCO pitchers and gained the win with 1 2/3 innings of relief work.

The Bronchos took a 1-0 lead in the second on Morrow's RBI walk and pushed the advantage to 4-0 in the third as Boyle had a two-run triple and Cunningham a run-scoring single.

USAO tied it with four runs in the fifth and the two traded runs in the seven to remain deadlocked before the Drovers went ahead with one run in the bottom of the eighth.

UCO answered that with three of its own in the ninth as Cunningham drew a bases-loaded walk, Taylor Brown had an RBI fielder's choice and Morrow a run-scoring single.

But USAO rallied in its final at bat, taking advantage of three walks and a hit to push across two runs and tie it at 8-all before Martzall got the Bronchos got out of a bases-loaded jam.

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