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EDMOND – Central Oklahoma will host the first round of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Post-season Tournament beginning Thursday against sixth-seeded Nebraska Kearney at 2:30 p.m. at Wendell Simmons Field.
The best-of-three series continues Friday at 2:30 p.m. and Saturday's "if necessary" contest is set for 1 p.m. Tickets are $5, with children six-and-under admitted free.
Other first-round match-ups have Central Missouri hosting Northeastern State, Washburn visiting Emporia State and Missouri Western entertaining Southwest Baptist. The four first-round winners advance to Springfield, Mo. May 8-10 to determine the tournament champion, with that team earning an automatic berth into the NCAA Division II playoffs.
The Bronchos are 34-15 on the season, but enter the tournament having lost four consecutive games for the first time this season. UCO tied Emporia State for second in the regular season standings at 26-14 and is the No. 3 seed for the tournament.
"We've backed ourselves into a corner and have to win the tournament to keep playing," head coach Dax Leone said. "I've got a lot of confidence in our guys and think we'll come out ready to play this week."
UNK is one of three conference teams the Bronchos did not play this year and the Lopers finished sixth in the league at 24-16
The Lopers finished third in the league in hitting with a .322 average and are led by Anthony Pacheco, who is batting .413 with four home runs and 37 runs batted in.
On the mound the Lopers are paced by Logan Willard, who is 6-0 with a 3.96 earned run average. They also boast two of the best relief pitchers in the conference in Joe Smidt (11 saves, 2.08 ERA) and Aaron Smith (6-1, 2.66 ERA in 44 innings despite having not made a start).
Phillip Wilson has done everything for the Bronchos this season as he leads the team with a .457 average, shares the team lead in homers (13) and is second in RBI (44). He also serves as the team's closer and has eight saves -- second-most in school history -- with a 2.40 ERA in 16 appearances.
Ricky Reeves leads the Bronchos on the mound with an 8-1 record and a 1.79 ERA, leading the league in wins and ranking second in ERA. Jared Sterling has also been one of the top starters in the MIAA with a 6-3 record and 2.50 ERA.
