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University of Central Oklahoma Athletics

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Hazel Puempel
Hazel Puempel
11
Winner St. Mary's STMUSB 8-12
8
Central Oklahoma UCO 10-11
Winner
St. Mary's STMUSB
8-12
11
Final
8
Central Oklahoma UCO
10-11
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 R H E
St. Mary's STMUSB 3 2 0 1 0 0 2 3 11 14 2
Central Oklahoma UCO 4 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 8 14 2

W: Alex McLennan (4-1) L: McKittrick, Bailey (1-2)

Game Recap: Softball |

UCO Stumbles Against Rattlers

EDMOND (Feb. 23) – A season-long problem plagued Central Oklahoma again Sunday afternoon in a tough 11-8 setback to St. Mary's on the final day of the UCO Softball Festival.

The Bronchos had 14 hits and also drew four walks, but left 16 runners on base -- the eighth time in 21 games they've stranded eight or more. UCO failed to score after loading the bases in two innings and stranded two runners five other times in falling to 10-11 on the season.

"We're getting ourselves into position to score, but there have been too many times when we haven't come through in those situations," head coach Cody White said. "We had lots of chances today and just didn't do enough."

Central did have one clutch moment in the loss, scoring three two-out runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to pull into an 8-8 tie and force extra innings. But St. Mary's pushed across three runs in the top of the eight and the Bronchos stranded two more runners in their final at bat.

The Rattlers scored three times in the top of the first to quickly jump on top and UCO responded immediately with four runs of their own in the bottom of that inning.

Lexy Dobson reached on an error to start the frame, went to second on Brighton Gilbert's sacrifice bunt and scored the first run on Hazel Puempel's single to left field. Amelya Huggins followed with an RBI double to left-center, Halley Randolph drove a run-scoring double down the left field line and Haley Pomplun plated the final run with a single to right-center.

The Rattlers went back ahead in the second with a pair of runs and added another in the fourth to go up 6-4.

Central got a run back in the bottom of the fourth. Randolph was hit by pitch with two outs, advanced to second on Pomplun's single through the left side and scored on an error to make it 6-5.

SMU appeared to put the game away when it extended its lead to 8-5 in the top of the seventh only to see the Bronchos pull off an improbable two-out rally to extend the game.

Gilbert ignited the comeback with a single up the middle and Puempel pulled UCO within one when she rocketed a line-drive off the scoreboard in left-center field for her third home run of the season. Huggins then walked and Allie Eicher singled before Randolph tied the game with a double in the gap.

That sent the game to extra innings and St. Mary's pulled out the win with its three-run eighth.

Dobson, Gilbert, Puempel, Randolph and Pomplun all had two hits apiece for UCO.

The Bronchos don't return to action until hosting Northeastern State on March 6 in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association opener.
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