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University of Central Oklahoma Athletics

The Official Site of Central Oklahoma University Athletics Central Oklahoma Athletics
Morgan Heard
Morgan Heard
6
Winner Emporia State ESU 28-29
0
Central Oklahoma UCO 34-22
Winner
Emporia State ESU
28-29
6
Final
0
Central Oklahoma UCO
34-22
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Emporia State ESU 1 1 0 4 0 0 0 6 11 0
Central Oklahoma UCO 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1

W: Mesler,M. (13-12) L: Walker, Peyton (5-10)

Game Recap: Softball |

Bronchos Fall Short In MIAA Finals

OKLAHOMA CITY (April 28) – In the end, Central Oklahoma simply ran out of steam.
 
Forced into the loser's bracket of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Postseason Tournament with a second-round loss Thursday night, the Bronchos needed to win five straight games in a two-day span to come back and win the title.
 
They came up one game short.
 
UCO bested Emporia State 7-4 Saturday morning for its fourth win in a 24-hour period to force the "if necessary" game in the double-elimination tournament, but the Bronchos' gas tank was empty and the Hornets pounced.  The tournament's No. 8 seed, ESU prevailed 6-0 to capture the crown and earn an automatic berth into the NCAA Division II national tournament.
 
Central, which averaged 11.3 hits a game while hitting .398 in the first six games of the tournament, managed just four hits in the finale.  The Bronchos ended the season 34-22.
 
"We were running on fumes at the end," head coach Cody White said.  "The girls expended a lot of energy yesterday having to win three games like that to stay in the tournament and they were all sore and tired this morning.  And then we put a lot into winning that first game today, so there just wasn't much left.
 
"That's not to take anything away from Emporia.  They outplayed us in the last game and definitely deserved to win.  I'm just really, really proud of my team for the way they fought and scratched to get ourselves into the final game with a chance to win the tournament."
 
Emporia scored single runs in the first and second innings to take a 2-0 lead in the finale, then put together five hits in a four-run fourth to grab a commanding 6-0 and that's the way it ended.
 
UCO threatened in two innings, but couldn't punch across a score either time.
 
Carli Jones and Halley Randolph led off the third with back-to-back singles and a Casady Webb sacrifice bunt had runners at second and third before two straight line-outs ended the inning.
 
Webb started the sixth with a double to left-center field and Morgan Heard had a two-out infield single to put runners on the corners, but Emporia's right fielder made a diving catch on JoBi Heath's short fly ball to keep the Bronchos off the board.
 
Heard went 4-for-4 with three runs batted in to lead a 13-hit assault that carried UCO past the Hornets 7-4 in the first game to set up the "if necessary" contest.
 
UCO jumped on top early in the opener, taking a 2-0 advantage when Carrie Abrams reached on a fielder's choice and Heard followed with a no-doubt line-drive bullet over the left field fence for her 10th home run of the season.
 
The Hornets answered right back with two runs of its own in the bottom of the first, but UCO moved in front to stay with a three-run volley in the second.
 
Jones started things with a one-out single up the middle and Randolph was hit by pitch before Webb ripped a run-scoring double off the left field fence.  Abrams added a two-run single down the left field line later in the frame to make it 5-2.
 
Emporia scored two unearned runs to get within 5-4 in the third and the Bronchos scored their final two runs in the fourth.
 
Webb reached second on an error to start the fourth and went to third on Bailey Thompson's single, with Abrams and Heard coming through with back-to-back RBI singles to give UCO a 7-4 cushion.
 
The Hornets threatened in the fifth after loading the bases with two outs, but Jayden Chestnut got an inning-ending groundout to escape trouble.
 
Jones added three hits, while Thompson and Abrams had two apiece for the Bronchos. 
 
Chestnut went the distance for her third win of the tournament, scattering five hits and allowing just one earned run.  It was the 19th complete game of the season for the junior right-hander, who improved to 19-6.

It was the third straight MIAA Postseason Tournament finals appearance for UCO, which finished second in 2016 before winning the title last year and then coming in second again this time.
 
 
 
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