Baseball 3/10/2021 1:00:00 PM Chris Brannick

Bronchos Visit Emporia State

EMPORIA, Kan. – The University of Central Oklahoma baseball team makes its return to MIAA play this week with a three-game series at Emporia State.

The Bronchos will play two games Thursday beginning at 2 p.m. before a third and final matchup scheduled for Friday at noon.

Central Oklahoma is 4-3 this season overall and 2-1 in the MIAA. The Bronchos took two out of three from Fort Hays State last weekend in Edmond in the first conference series of the season for Central.

Emporia State is 5-6 overall and 2-4 in league play. ESU was swept by Missouri Southern two weeks ago before taking two out of three against Northwest Missouri last weekend.

Central takes an offense to Kansas hitting .318 as a team. The Bronchos have 78 hits in seven games, an 11.1 hits per game average. UCO also has scored 58 runs in seven games, 8.3 per contest.

Ryan Harrel has a team-high .458 batting average. He's 11-for-24 in seven games played with two extra-base hits, five RBIs, and seven runs scored. Garrett Takamatsu is hitting .435, having gone 10-for-23 with one extra-base hit, five RBIs, and a team-high eight runs scored.

Joe Mondragon, hitting .429, has the most hits of any Broncho this season with 12. He's 12-for-28 in seven games played, has two extra-base hits, and also has five RBIs and eight runs scored. Brett Hopkins is the fourth Bronchos with at least a .400 batting average after seven games. Hopkins (.407) is 11-for-27 with three extra-base hits – one home run – and seven RBIs. He, like Takamatsu and Mondragon, also has scored eight runs.

Hopkins is one of six Bronchos with a home run this season but all six have just one. Zach Freeman, Philip Scott, Kyle Crowl, Brendan Ezell, and Cacy Harper have each hit one out along with Hopkins.

Defensively, Central takes a 5.55 earned run average to Kansas. The Bronchos do have 88 strikeouts in seven games, a blistering average of 12.3 per game. Opponents are hitting just .240 against Central and average 7.7 hits per game and 5.8 runs per game.

Luke Anderson, with a 1.74 ERA, leads the Broncho pitching staff this season. The junior right-handed flamethrower has 16 strikeouts in 10 1/3 innings pitched this season and has given up just nine total hits and just two total runs.

Grant Larson (5.06) has 14 strikeouts in 10 2/3 innings of work this season. Kyler Patterson (5.06) has a team-high 18 strikeouts in 10 2/3 innings this season. Brayden Nelson, in 5 1/3 innings, has yet to allow a run and has the only 0.00 ERA on the squad.

Emporia State has a team batting average of .289, averages 9.3 hits per game and 6.9 runs per game. Its pitching staff boasts a 4.28 team ERA. The Hornets give up on average 7.1 hits per game and 5.6 runs per game.

Central Oklahoma will be off this weekend as this series was originally scheduled for Friday-Saturday. Forecasted rain altered the schedule. The Bronchos will return home following the ESU series and are scheduled to host Oklahoma Christian Tuesday at 6 p.m. in Edmond.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

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

#22 Brendan Ezell: C; 5' 9"; Junior; R/R

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

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

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

#15 Kyler Patterson: P; 6' 0"; Junior; R/R

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

#33 Garrett Takamatsu: C; 6' 0"; Junior; R/R

#34 Cacy Harper: C; 6' 4"; Junior; R/R

#25 Luke Anderson: P; 6' 2"; Junior; */R

Players Mentioned

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

#22 Brendan Ezell
: 5' 9"; Junior; R/R
: C

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

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

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

#15 Kyler Patterson
: 6' 0"; Junior; R/R
: P

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

#33 Garrett Takamatsu
: 6' 0"; Junior; R/R
: C

#34 Cacy Harper
: 6' 4"; Junior; R/R
: C

#25 Luke Anderson
: 6' 2"; Junior; */R
: P