Baseball 5/19/2021 12:30:00 PM Chris Brannick

Central Oklahoma Takes On Rogers State In MIAA Tournament

JOPLIN, Mo. – The University of Central Oklahoma baseball team continues its postseason trek Thursday with an MIAA Tournament game against Rogers State at Missouri Southern's Turner Field.

SEE THE MIAA BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP PAGE HERE

Central Oklahoma (24-19) is the sixth-seed in the MIAA Tournament and won an opening round best-of-three series at MSSU in three games last weekend to advance to the final four double-elimination portion of the tourney this weekend.

Rogers State (20-20) is the seventh-seed in the tournament and won its opening round best-of-three series at Northeastern State in two games last weekend to advance.

Central Missouri is the top seed in the tournament and will play fourth-seeded Pittsburg State Thursday. The two games' winners will play Friday, as well as the two games' losers. The 2021 MIAA Baseball Championship game is scheduled for Saturday.

UCO comes into the second round of postseason play averaging 6.6 runs per game on 9.1 hits per game. The Bronchos have a team batting average of .272 this season.

Garrett Takamatsu leads the team with a .375 batting average and adds a .588 slugging percentage. The junior catcher has 51 hits this season, including 10 doubles, two triples and five home runs. He also has 31 RBIs to go with 31 runs scored.

Kyle Crowl is second on the team with a .339 batting average and has a team-high .636 slugging percentage. Crowl has 56 hits this season, including 14 doubles and 11 homers, the latter leading the team. He also has a team-high 38 RBIs this season and has scored 37 runs.

Philip Scott, hitting .328 this season, leads the team with 57 hits in 43 games played. Scott, a senior infielder, also leads the team with 42 runs scored and 17 doubles. He adds 22 RBIs and has two home runs this season.

Joe Mondragon, hitting .319, also has more than 50 hits this season, collecting 51 in 42 games played. Mondragon has nine doubles and a pair of triples. He also has 22 RBIs.

Defensively, Central has a team ERA of 5.28, allowing 5.6 runs per game on 8.5 hits per game through 43 games played this season.

Luke Anderson, a junior right-hander, is 5-5 this season with a 3.72 ERA in 12 starts. He has thrown a team-high 67 2/3 innings and has a team-high 73 strikeouts.

Brayden Nelson, a senior righty, is 6-2 this season with a 3.38 ERA in 10 starts. He has thrown 53 1/3 and has 45 strikeouts.

Jacob Bailey, also a junior right-hander, is 3-1 this season in five starts, moving into the starting rotation about a month ago. Bailey has 16 total appearances this season and has thrown 49 1/3 innings. He has 58 strikeouts, the second-most on the team.

Rogers State enters the second weekend of the tournament averaging 6.6 runs per game on 9.5 hits per game. The Hillcats of Claremore, Okla. allow 6.1 runs per game on 9.8 hits per game.

Central Oklahoma and Rogers State played thrice in Claremore just three weeks ago. UCO lost the series opener 3-1 but bounced back with wins in Game 2 (6-1) and Game 3 (3-1).

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Players Mentioned

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

#35 Jacob Bailey: P; 6' 0"; Sophomore; */R

#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: IF; 6' 0"; Senior; R/R

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

Players Mentioned

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

#35 Jacob Bailey
: 6' 0"; Sophomore; */R
: P

#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
: IF

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