No. 17 Bronchos Go To Newman

No. 17-ranked Central Oklahoma plays the first of 10 straight road games Friday when the Bronchos travel to Wichita, Kan. to take on Newman.

Game one action in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association doubleheader starts at 2 p.m.

UCO is 20-6 on the year and atop the league standings at 9-1, having won seven straight games. The Jets are 5-18 overall and 3-9 in the conference.

"Going on the road is never easy in this league," head coach Cody White said. "We know Newman is going to be ready to play and they've got a bunch of dangerous hitters.

"We just need to worry about ourselves. We've been playing pretty well, but we have to stay focused and need to continue working to get better every time we step on the field."

It's the only games this week for the Bronchos, who go on the road for two MIAA doubleheaders each of the next two weekends.

ABOUT THE SERIES: UCO has dominated the Jets, owning a 6-0 lead in a series that started in 2000. This will be the first-ever MIAA meetings between the two since Newman didn't join the league until 2020 and last year's games were canceled by the coronavirus pandemic.

ABOUT THE BRONCHOS: UCO overwhelmed three opponents last week in sweeping three straight home doubleheaders, beating non-conference foe Arkansas Tech along with conference rivals Lincoln and Central Missouri.

The Bronchos earned four run-rule routs on the week and scored 50 runs in the six games while giving up just nine.

Shayla Harper was named MIAA Hitter of the Week after batting .500 with four home runs and 11 runs batted in, while Corrina Rivas went 3-0 with an 0.93 earned run average in taking MIAA Pitcher of the Week honors.

Seven players are hitting .300-plus for the season, with Hazel Puempel's .370 average leading the way. The senior standout has six doubles, five homers, 18 RBI and seven stolen bases.

Allie Eicher is at .354 with five doubles, three homers and 17 RBI, while Harper's big week raised her average to .345. The sophomore slugger has a team-high seven homers, which is tied for second in the league, and 17 RBI.

Tarin Dubler (.324), Brighton Gilbert (.317), Jacee Minter (.308) and Mikayla Rutland (.300) finish out UCO's balanced offense. Nine players have at least 10 RBI for the Bronchos.

Central is hitting .301 as a team while averaging 9.0 hits and 7.0 runs per game.

UCO's team ERA has dropped to 2.74, with opponents hitting just .253 in averaging 7.2 hits and 3.4 runs a game.

Rivas is 10-2 for the season with a 2.01 ERA. The junior right-hander has completed five of the 11 games she's started and opponents are batting .225 against her.

Kylee Lynch is 9-3 with a 3.21 ERA in the circle. The freshman left-hander has 42 strikeouts and 12 walks in 72 innings pitched with six complete games in 13 starts.

ABOUT THE JETS: Newman swept a doubleheader from Lincoln in its last outing and is 3-9 at home this season.

The Jets average 7.4 hits and 4.6 runs per game while hitting .277 as a team.

Emma Eck tops the team with a .377 average and Anissa Ramos is batting .370, leads the league in doubles (nine) and has 22 RBI. Taylor Ullery is hitting .338, is tied for second in the MIAA with seven homers and has 22 RBI.

Newman is allowing 9.9 hits and 7.9 runs a game with a 7.65 team ERA.

Anna Veltien leads the pitching staff with a 4-6 record and 6.40 ERA in 62 1/3 innings.

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Players Mentioned

#10 Allie Eicher: IF; 5' 7"; Junior; L/R

#5 Brighton Gilbert: IF; 5' 5"; Junior; L/R

#28 Hazel Puempel: OF; 5' 9"; Senior; L/R

#4 Tarin Dubler: IF; 5' 7"; Junior; R/R

#13 Corrina Rivas: P; 5' 7"; Junior; R/R

#22 Kylee Lynch: P; 5' 8"; Freshman; L/R

#3 Mikayla Rutland: UT; 5' 7"; Sophomore; R/R

#11 Shayla Harper: IF; 5' 7"; Sophomore; R/R

#12 Jacee Minter: OF; 5' 6"; Freshman; R/R

Players Mentioned

#10 Allie Eicher
: 5' 7"; Junior; L/R
: IF

#5 Brighton Gilbert
: 5' 5"; Junior; L/R
: IF

#28 Hazel Puempel
: 5' 9"; Senior; L/R
: OF

#4 Tarin Dubler
: 5' 7"; Junior; R/R
: IF

#13 Corrina Rivas
: 5' 7"; Junior; R/R
: P

#22 Kylee Lynch
: 5' 8"; Freshman; L/R
: P

#3 Mikayla Rutland
: 5' 7"; Sophomore; R/R
: UT

#11 Shayla Harper
: 5' 7"; Sophomore; R/R
: IF

#12 Jacee Minter
: 5' 6"; Freshman; R/R
: OF