Baseball 1/29/2020 8:22:00 AM Chris Brannick

Central Opens 2020 Baseball Season

EDMOND – The University of Central Oklahoma baseball team opens the 2020 season Friday when the Bronchos host Henderson State at 7 p.m. at Wendell Simmons Field. Central is hosting the Edmond First Pitch Classic, which brings seven teams to Edmond for a three-day festival of 11 games to open the new year.

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"We're ready to get out there and see what we can do," UCO head coach John Martin said. "The guys are tired of playing against each other and they're ready to face someone else. We're excited about this year's team. We've added a lot of pitching and some good offensive guys, so we're really excited to see how it goes."

Central Oklahoma returns 19 from last year's squad that won 38 games, reached the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association tournament final, and the NCAA Tournament Central Region II final. The Bronchos also brought in 17 newcomers to boast the new year's roster.

Central looks to continue a dominating trend on the mound this season. The Bronchos have not only produced three MLB draft picks – all pitchers – in three years, but have produced strikeouts en masse.

UCO struck out 548 last season, which ranked fifth in the nation. The Bronchos totaled 9.6 strikeouts per nine innings and a 2.67 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Both of those were also among the national leaders.

Central also had the best defense in the country behind that pitching staff. UCO boasted a .985 fielding percentage in 2019, winning the NCAA statistical champion award for the nation's best mark, which is also now a new NCAA record.

To build off of that, the Bronchos return All-Region starting pitcher Dylan Hall, who went 8-4 last season and struck out a Central record 123 batters in just over 106 innings pitched. UCO also has Brayden Nelson back. In a mix of relief duty and starting responsibility, Nelson earned a 6-1 record with a 2.12 earned run average – the latter also a new Central record. He struck out 54 in 59+ innings. Colton Croft is the third pitcher back with mound experience. A sophomore, Croft made eight starts and seven relief appearances last season and struck out 30 from the bump.

UCO has four more pitchers that are back, but have yet to throw in a game for the Bronchos, and 10 other new arms ready to go in 2020.

Offensively, the Bronchos are aiming to improve in 2020. UCO has eight returners that played the field and helped the Broncho bats last season, and four more returners that sat out a redshirt season are ready to help the bats this season.

Philip Scott, who played and started in all 58 games last season, is back after hitting a team-high .291 a year ago. Scott had 64 hits, 20 for extra bases, scored 37 runs and drove in 29 more. Kyle Crowl, who played and started in 56 games last season, hit .279. He led the team with 10 home runs and also had 13 doubles. Crowl both scored and drove in 40 runs.

Dru Barrier, Joe Mondragon, Brice West, Brock Schaffer, and Ryan Harrel also return and are looking to improve the Central offense that hit .250 as a team. UCO averaged 5.3 runs per game last season.

Henderson State went 25-22 last season, including a 15-11 mark in the Great American Conference. Central Oklahoma will also play Saturday at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m., hosting Northwestern Oklahoma State and Missouri Southern. The Bronchos have Sunday off as the Edmond First Pitch Classic wraps up.

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Players Mentioned

#23 Colton Croft: P/1B; 6' 1"; Redshirt Freshman; R/R

#7 Brice West: OF/1B; 6' 4"; Sophomore; R/R

#27 Philip Scott: 2B/3B; 6' 0"; Junior; R/R

#17 Joe Mondragon: 1B; 6' 1"; Junior; L/R

#2 Ryan Harrel: SS; 6' 0"; Junior; R/R

#21 Brock Schaffer: OF; 6' 3"; Junior; L/R

#14 Brayden Nelson: P; 6' 2"; Junior; R/R

#9 Dru Barrier: OF; 5' 9"; Junior; L/L

#13 Dylan Hall: P; 6' 5"; Junior; R/R

#12 Kyle Crowl: IF; 6' 2"; Junior; R/R

Players Mentioned

#23 Colton Croft
: 6' 1"; Redshirt Freshman; R/R
: P/1B

#7 Brice West
: 6' 4"; Sophomore; R/R
: OF/1B

#27 Philip Scott
: 6' 0"; Junior; R/R
: 2B/3B

#17 Joe Mondragon
: 6' 1"; Junior; L/R
: 1B

#2 Ryan Harrel
: 6' 0"; Junior; R/R
: SS

#21 Brock Schaffer
: 6' 3"; Junior; L/R
: OF

#14 Brayden Nelson
: 6' 2"; Junior; R/R
: P

#9 Dru Barrier
: 5' 9"; Junior; L/L
: OF

#13 Dylan Hall
: 6' 5"; Junior; R/R
: P

#12 Kyle Crowl
: 6' 2"; Junior; R/R
: IF