CONROE, Texas (Feb. 1) – Corrina Rivas pitched a four-hitter to lead No. 7-ranked Central Oklahoma past No. 15 Cameron as the Bronchos split a pair of games on the second day of the Arkansas Tech Winter Invitational Saturday.
UCO built a 5-0 lead against the Aggies before holding on for a 5-2 victory in its first game of the day before dropping a 6-4 decision to perennial power Angelo State after giving up a pair of unearned runs in the sixth inning.
The Bronchos, now 1-3 in the season-opening tournament, wrap up play Sunday with games against Texas Woman's and Texas-Permian Basin.
"Overall I thought we played better today, but we still made some crucial mistakes that cost us against Angelo," head coach Cody White said. "Corrina pitched well against Cameron and we did some good things offensively, though we left too many runners on base. It's the first weekend of the season and we're still learning a lot about ourselves."
Rivas went the distance against Cameron in picking up the first win of her UCO career. The junior transfer from Southern Illinois-Edwardsville scattered four hits and walked just one while giving up two unearned runs with two strikeouts.
Lexy Dobson, Hazel Puempel and Haley Pomplun had two hits apiece to lead a 10-hit attack.
The Bronchos broke a scoreless deadlock in the top of the third inning. Pomplun led things off with a single, Dobson reached on a fielder's choice and both advanced on Brighton Gilbert's sacrifice bunt before Puempel delivered a two-run single to center field.
UCO pushed the lead to 4-0 in the fourth when Tori Ritz led off with a single, Aleah Bozarth followed with an RBI triple to right-center field and Pomplun came through with a run-scoring single.
The Bronchos made it 5-0 in the fifth on Halley Randolph's one-out single that scored Puempel, who started the inning with a double to center field.
Cameron scored once in each of the last two innings to get within 5-2 and had two runners on in the bottom of the seventh before Rivas got the final out.
Central jumped out to a 1-0 lead over ASU on Tori Ritz's RBI double in the second inning that scored Allie Eicher, though the Rambelles tied it with a run in the bottom of that frame.
Eicher had another lead-off hit in the fourth, this one a double to right-center, and she scored on consecutive groundouts to put the Bronchos on top. UCO made it 4-1 in the fifth as Puempel drew a two-out walk, Amelya Huggins followed with a single and Randolph plated both with a double to left field.
But Angelo rallied, scoring three runs in the bottom of the fifth to tie it and then going ahead with two unearned runs in the sixth to hand the Bronchos the tough loss.
Dobson and Eicher had two hits each to lead UCO's offense.
