Softball 5/14/2019 5:43:00 PM

No. 1 Bronchos To Host Super Regional

Top-ranked Central Oklahoma continues its quest for a berth in the NCAA Division II World Series this week when the Bronchos host No. 15-rated Augustana in the Central Super Regional Tournament at Broncho Stadium in Edmond.

The best-of-three series gets underway Thursday at 4 p.m. and the teams meet again at 4 p.m. Friday, with the "if necessary" game set for 6:30 p.m. The winner will join seven other regional champions in the Division II World Series, which will be held May 23-27 in Denver, Colo.

UCO of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association is 48-6 on the season, while the Vikings of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference are 54-10.

ABOUT LAST WEEK: The Bronchos advanced to the Central Super Regional by winning the Central Regional I Tournament in Edmond, with Augustana taking the Central Regional II Tournament in Winona, Minn.

UCO, the No. 1 seed in the eight-team Central Region, beat Minnesota-Duluth 4-0 and Arkansas Tech 3-2 to make the finals. ATU won an elimination game to get into the finals and beat the Bronchos 4-2 before Central rolled to a 12-0 rout in the "if necessary" game.

The third-seeded Vikings edged Missouri Western 8-7 and then blanked Winona State 4-0 in making the finals of their regional. Second-seeded WSU came back to claim a 2-1 victory in forcing the "if necessary" game and Augie prevailed 3-2 in that contest to move on.

ABOUT THE SUPER REGIONALS:  Eight super regional tournaments are being held around the country this week as the original 64-team bracket has been pared to the sweet 16.

Five unranked teams are still left in the field, with two guaranteed to make the Division II World Series. Four top-10 teams were knocked out during regional play last weekend.

A look at each super regional pairing: Atlantic – West Chester vs. Shepherd; East – No. 20 St. Anselm vs. No. 23 LIU-Post; Midwest – No. 7 Grand Valley State vs. No. 13 Indianapolis; South – No. 2 West Florida vs. No. 4 Florida Tech; Southeast – Lincoln Memorial vs. Young Harris; South Central – No. 3 Texas A&M-Kingsville vs. Cameron; West – No. 9 Concordia-Irvine vs. No. 14 UC San Diego.

HOME SWEET HOME: UCO is 28-2 at Broncho Stadium this season. The Bronchos won their first 20 home games before losing to Washburn on April 20 in the first game of the final regular season doubleheader.

Central is 7-1 at home in the postseason, going 4-0 in winning the MIAA Postseason Tournament May 1-4 and 3-1 in claiming the Central Regional I Tournament.

UCO is 322-119-1 since beginning play in Broncho Stadium in 1994, including a 103-20 mark under sixth-year head coach Cody White.

ANOTHER 40-WIN SEASON: UCO has reached the 40-win mark for the eighth time in school history and the seventh time in eight years, including the fifth under sixth-year head coach Cody White.

The 48 wins is tied for the second-most in school history, equaling the 2017 team that finished 48-11 and trailing the 2013 squad that went 51-11 in capturing the program's lone national championship.

Central's 41-5 regular-season record was the best in school history, ahead of the 39-5 mark of the 2012 team that ended up 46-9 with a third-place finish in the Division II World Series.

BRONCHOS IN THE NATIONAL TOURNEY: UCO is making its 12th appearance in the Division II national tournament, including the eighth in the last 10 years. The Bronchos have an all-time record of 31-23.

Central won regional championships in 2006, '12 and '13 to advance to the Division II World Series and captured its lone national title in 2013.

This is the third super regional for the Bronchos. UCO beat Angelo State in three games to advance to the World Series in 2012 and swept Winona State the following season to move on. Central went to San Angelo, Texas in 2012 and then hosted WSU at Edmond North High School, making this week's Central Super Regional the first to be played at Broncho Stadium.

Super regionals weren't in place in 2006, when the Bronchos went 4-0 to win an eight-team regional in making their first Division II World Series appearance.

UCO's year-by-year record in the national playoffs:
2002: 1-2
2005: 2-2
2006: 5-2 (regional champions)
2008: 1-2
2010: 0-2
2012: 7-4 (regional champions)
2013: 9-0 (regional, national champions)
2014: 1-2
2015: 1-2
2016: 1-2
2017: 1-2
2018: 3-1

UCO AGAINST THE VIKINGS: The Bronchos are 5-8 in the series with Augustana and the Vikings have won seven of the last eight meetings.

UCO's only win in that stretch was a 7-5 victory last season. Augie claimed a 4-0 win over the Bronchos on March 22 this season at the Hy-Vee Classic in St. Joseph, Mo. Central tied a season-low with just four hits in that loss and suffered one of two shutouts this year.

THREE MAKE ALL-REGION: Senior third baseman JoBi Heath, junior outfielder Hazel Puempel and freshman pitcher Bailey McKittrick all earned first-team honors on the All-Central Region team by both the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) and the Conference Commissioner's Association (CCA).

Heath was also named to the NFCA's top 10 list for Division II Player of the Year, while McKittrick is one of eight finalists for the NFCA's Division II Freshman of the Year.

ABOUT THE HITTING:  The Bronchos rank in the top 10 nationally in four categories – doubles per game (third, 2.11), average (third, .350), on-base percentage (fifth, .439) and runs per game (ninth, 7.20).

• UCO is averaging 9.7 hits a game, including 3.1 for extra bases. The Bronchos have had 10-plus hits 29 times, with a high of 18 coming in 17-5 win over Southeastern Oklahoma on Feb. 11

• Central has hit a single-season school record 114 doubles and has had 10 games with at least four.

• The Bronchos have scored 10-plus runs 14 times, with a high of 17 coming in a 17-3 win over Northwest Missouri on March 7.

• Senior third baseman JoBi Heath has been UCO's offensive ringleader all season. The four-year starter leads the nation in runs batted in (74) while also ranking second in doubles (23) and eighth in total bases (136). Heath is batting .403 with 14 home runs and a .773 slugging percentage. She's had 11-, 12- and 16-game hitting streaks this season along with 23 multi-RBI games. Heath is tied for first on UCO's single-season list for doubles and is second RBI while ranking fifth in homers. She's in the top five in seven career categories at UCO – 1st in doubles (69), 2nd in RBI (223), T-2nd in home runs (42), 4th in at bats (746), 4th in hits (271), 5th in games played (229) and 5th in runs scored (166). Heath has batted .457 in 30 home games with 13 doubles, 11 homers and 45 RBI.

• Junior right fielder Hazel Puempel has been UCO's sparkplug at the top of the batting order in her first year with the Bronchos. The transfer from Texas Woman's is hitting .399 with 17 doubles, six homers, four triples and 53 RBI – 25 of those coming with two outs. Puempel seventh nationally in walks with a single-season school record 43 and owns a team-best .509 on-base percentage. She has had 23 multi-hit games and has a blistering .472 average with 11 doubles, four homers and 37 RBI in 30 home games. Puempel is also tied for seventh in doubles and tied for 10th in RBI on the school's single-season lists.

• Senior center fielder Bailey Thompson has been on a late-season tear, having batted .500 (34-for-68) in the last 20 games to take over the team lead with a .404 average. She also tops the team in stolen bases with 14 and has seven triples, which ranks 10th nationally and is tied for second on UCO's single-season list. Thompson has had 21 multi-hit games this season, nine of which have come in the last 20 games. She's tied for fourth in career triples (11).

• Sophomore left fielder Lexy Dobson is UCO's third player over the .400 mark, carrying a .401 average entering the super regional. She has 10 doubles and 32 RBI on the season. Dobson is batting a team-high .444 (20-for-45) with two outs and hits .488 (20-for-41) when leading off an inning. She batted .364 (4-for-11) with two RBI in last week's regional. Dobson has reached base in 19 consecutive games.

• Senior second baseman Casady Webb tied Dobson for the team's best average at last week's regional with a .364 mark (4-for-11) with two doubles and two RBI. She's hitting .352 on the season with nine doubles, five homers and 42 RBI. Webb has a .400 average in 30 home games with four doubles, four homers and 31 RBI.

• Senior first baseman Carli Jones is batting .331 with 14 doubles, six homers and 38 RBI. She owns the school record for career walks with 104 and also ranks in UCO's all-time top 10 in six other categories – 6th in doubles (43), 7th in hits (212), 7th in RBI (136), 7th in games played (213), 8th in at bats (604) and T-10th in homers (23).

ABOUT THE PITCHING:  The Bronchos have a team earned run average of 2.22.

Opponents are hitting just .256 against UCO pitchers, averaging 6.7 hits and 2.7 runs per game. The Bronchos gave up just 21 hits and six runs (five earned) in four regional tournament games last week, finishing with a 1.40 ERA.

• Freshman Bailey McKittrick is 26-3 with a 1.84 ERA and has walked just 49 batters in 175.1 innings. She has 17 complete games in 25 starts and has thrown five-plus innings in 21 of her last 22 starts with 15 complete games. McKittrick's 26 wins rank seventh nationally and is third on the school's single-season list. She's also 10th in single-season innings pitched at UCO.

• Junior Sydney McLeod is 19-3 with a 2.24 ERA and has completed eight of the 24 games she's started with four shutouts. She's thrown at least four innings in her last eight starts and tossed a four-hitter in UCO's 12-0 win over Arkansas Tech to win the Central Regional I Tournament title. McLeod has walked only 33 batters in 119.0 innings and is 13-0 with a 1.29 ERA in 14 home appearances this season.

ABOUT THE COACH:  Cody White has a 252-96 record in his sixth year at the UCO helm.

He has guided the Bronchos to five 40-win seasons and five national tournament appearances. UCO has captured two regular-season MIAA titles (2017, '19) under White and been runner-up three times.

Central had a 41-17 record in White's first season in 2014, then went 41-20 in 2015, 40-20 in 2016, 48-11 in 2017 and 34-22 last year. White was the assistant coach in 2013 when the Bronchos went 51-11 and captured the national championship.

ABOUT AUGIE: The Vikings were regular-season runners-up in the NSIC and then won the league tournament title before taking last week's Central Regional II Tournament crown.

Augie ranks in the top 10 nationally in five categories – slugging percentage (third, .575), average (fourth, .349), shutouts (fifth, 21), home runs per game (sixth, 1.27) and ERA (ninth, 1.65).

Offensively the Vikings are paced by Kara McDougall (.459, 21 steals) and Maggie Kadrick (.434, 18 doubles, 15 homers, 62 RBI). Mary Pardo is hitting .352 with 16 homers and 44 RBI, while Shannon Petersen is batting .365 with 17 doubles, 12 homers and 62 RBI.

Augie has used three pitchers and each has at least 10 wins and an ERA below 2.00. Ashley Mickschl is 25-5 with a 1.73 ERA and 173 strikeouts in 190.0 innings, while Olivia Wolters is 10-1 with seven saves and a 1.42 ERA.

Mickschl threw a four-hit shutout in the Vikings' 4-0 win over UCO earlier this season, striking out five and walking one.

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Players Mentioned

#8 Lexy Dobson: OF; 5' 6"; Sophomore; R/R

#13 JoBi Heath: IF/OF; 5' 7"; Senior; R/R

#15 Carli Jones: 1B; 5' 7"; Senior; L/R

#22 Bailey Thompson: OF; 5' 4"; Senior; L/R

#7 Casady Webb: UT; 5' 5"; Senior; R/R

#27 Bailey McKittrick: P; 5' 7"; Freshman; R/R

#35 Sydney McLeod: P; 5' 10"; Junior; -/L

#28 Hazel Puempel: UT; 5' 9"; Junior; L/R

Players Mentioned

#8 Lexy Dobson
: 5' 6"; Sophomore; R/R
: OF

#13 JoBi Heath
: 5' 7"; Senior; R/R
: IF/OF

#15 Carli Jones
: 5' 7"; Senior; L/R
: 1B

#22 Bailey Thompson
: 5' 4"; Senior; L/R
: OF

#7 Casady Webb
: 5' 5"; Senior; R/R
: UT

#27 Bailey McKittrick
: 5' 7"; Freshman; R/R
: P

#35 Sydney McLeod
: 5' 10"; Junior; -/L
: P

#28 Hazel Puempel
: 5' 9"; Junior; L/R
: UT