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University of Central Oklahoma Athletics

The Official Site of Central Oklahoma University Athletics Central Oklahoma Athletics
Brice West
2
Southwestern Okla. SWOSU 3-4
3
Winner Central Oklahoma UCO 6-2
Southwestern Okla. SWOSU
3-4
2
Final
3
Central Oklahoma UCO
6-2
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Southwestern Okla. SWOSU 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 9 3
Central Oklahoma UCO 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 5 0

W: Rutland, Josh (1-0) L: Brant Millerborg (0-1)

Game Recap: Baseball | | Chris Brannick

Bronchos Walk-off Southwestern

EDMOND – Ryan Harrel smacked a short hopper to the left side of the infield with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning, the shortstop couldn't make a throw home in time to stop Kace Massner, and the University of Central Oklahoma baseball team beat Southwestern Oklahoma 3-2 at Wendell Simmons Field Wednesday night. That after Brice West smashed his first career home run, a solo shot to center field, to tie the game 2-2 in the ninth inning.
 
"It's always good to get a win especially when you don't play your best baseball," UCO head coach John Martin said after the game. "We didn't hit the ball well at all tonight, but the guys fought through in the end and we got the win."
 
West swung at the first pitch he saw in the bottom of the ninth of SWOSU pitcher Brant Millerborg and drilled it nearly 400 feet to center field. The sophomore from Mustang, Okla. is hitting .440 on the young 2019 season after Wednesday night.
 
Massner stood in the box next, 1-for-3 on the night. Also a sophomore, the Burlington, Iowa product made contact on a 1-1 pitch and sent an awkward bouncing ball to the SWOSU first basemen, who then made an errant toss to the pitcher covering the bag and Massner reached on an error. He advanced all the way to third on the play after the SWOSU defense struggled to track the ball and get it back in play.
 
Southwestern then chose to intentionally walk TK McWhertor, and Martin then used Dru Barrier as a pinch runner. As Martin brought on Brock Ruminer to pinch hit for Joe Mondragon, SWOSU again signaled an intentional walk to load the bases with no outs in the inning.
 
Southwestern went to the bullpen and reliever Tyler Barnett. Harrel looked at a strike before watching two balls go by. He swung on the next pitch and Massner darted home for the walk-off win for the Bronchos.
 
Central Oklahoma is now 6-2 on the season and has won five-straight games.
 
Josh Rutland ended the night as the winning pitcher. The senior from Shawnee, Okla. came on in the top of the ninth with the Bronchos trailing 2-1 and struck out two of the four batters he faced.
 
Both teams used a bullpen effort Wednesday night. Dylan Hall got the start for the Bronchos, but only threw three innings. Landon Bond threw one inning, Brayden Nelson tossed two, and Junior Obeso also threw two innings before handing it over to Rutland in the ninth.
 
UCO combined to strike out 11 SWOSU batters on the night. The Bulldogs scattered nine hits in the game.
 
Southwestern jumped on the Bronchos moments after the national anthem. Alex Bedard hit a leadoff double and later scored to make it 1-0 in the top of the first inning. Bedard was hit by a pitch in the third inning, stole second, advanced to third on a pop-fly, and then scored the second run of the game on a wild pitch. Both SWOSU runs were charged to Hall on the night.
 
UCO got one back in the bottom of the third inning. Philip Scott led off with a double to left field before Kyle Crowl singled a 1-1 pitch to left that scored Scott and made the game 2-1.
 
Both teams then zipped through the next five and a half innings before the Broncho rally in the ninth to win the game.
 
UCO mustered just five hits in the game Wednesday. Scott, Crowl, and Paul Kropf, the 1-2-3 hitters in the Broncho lineup, each had one hit. West and Massner had the other two.
 
Central Oklahoma can now take its five-game win streak into a six-day layoff in the schedule. After playing eight games in 13 days to start the 2019 season, UCO is off until next Tuesday when the Bronchos visit Oklahoma Baptist in Shawnee.
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