Baseball 4/23/2021 11:00:00 AM Chris Brannick

Central Oklahoma Hosts Missouri Western

EDMOND – The University of Central Oklahoma baseball team is scheduled to host Missouri Western Saturday in an MIAA doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. at Wendell Simmons Field.

Central Oklahoma is honoring its 2021 Ring of Honor inductees prior to the game. Former Broncho greats Brandon Bagwell (1996-99), Kirk Gore (2000-02) and Kyle Nevels (2003-04) will throw out the ceremonial first pitch.

UCO comes into the weekend with a 15-14 overall record this season and is 10-11 in MIAA play. The Bronchos are currently in fifth place in the league standings with three weekends left in the regular season. Missouri Western is 10-20 overall this season and 8-16 in league play.

Central is led by junior catcher Garrett Takamatsu and senior infielders Kyle Crowl, Philip Scott, and Joe Mondragon. The quartet leads Central's offense with each player hitting in the 300s.

Takamatsu has a team best .384 batting average through 24 games played. He has 33 hits, including nine for extra bases, and has scored 21 runs to go with 21 runs batted in.

Crowl is hitting .360 through 29 games played. He's played in and started all 29 games for the Bronchos this season. Crowl has a team-high 40 hits this season and has 29 runs scored and 28 RBIs. Of the 40 hits, Crowl has nine home runs and eight doubles to go with one triple.

Scott is hitting .317 through 29 games played and has also played in and started all of UCO's games this season. He has 38 hits, including a team-high 13 doubles, to go with 28 runs scored and 20 RBIs.

Mondragon, hitting .306, has 34 hits including eight doubles and two triples. He adds 25 runs scored and has 16 RBIs.

Luke Anderson and Brayden Nelson are leading the way for the Broncho pitching staff.

Anderson is 3-3 this season in eight starts and has a 4.17 ERA. The right-hander has 49 strikeouts in 45 1/3 innings of work.

Nelson is 5-1 this season in six starts. He has a 3.13 ERA and adds 26 strikeouts in 31 2/3 innings of work.

Offensively, Central Oklahoma is averaging 7.3 runs per game this season and doing so on 9.6 hits per game. Defensively, Central is limiting opponents to a .269 batting average, with the Bronchos allowing 6.4 runs per game on nine hits per game. The Bronchos have a 6.13 team ERA.

Missouri Western is averaging 5.6 runs per game on 8.9 hits per game. The team has a combined batting average of .263. Defensively, MWSU brings a team ERA of 6.10 to Edmond this weekend. The Griffons allow 6.8 runs per game on 10.1 hits per game.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

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

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

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

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

Players Mentioned

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

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

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

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

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

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