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University of Central Oklahoma Athletics

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Emily Deramus
Emily Deramus
10
Winner Central Oklahoma UCO 54-8
6
Cal St. San Marcos CSUSM 33-21
Winner
Central Oklahoma UCO
54-8
10
Final
6
Cal St. San Marcos CSUSM
33-21
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Central Oklahoma UCO 0 5 0 1 3 0 1 10 13 2
Cal St. San Marcos CSUSM 0 0 1 4 0 1 0 6 11 2

W: Pipkin, Jordyn (20-4) L: SLOSS, Jayline (11-9)

Game Recap: Softball |

Stayin' Alive!

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (May 27) – Jordyn Pipkin's clutch pitching performance and a 13-hit offensive assault has Central Oklahoma in the final four of the NCAA Division II Softball Championship.
 
Pipkin took over in the circle in the fourth inning and extinguished a Cal State-San Marcos rally before going on to finish the game as the No. 4-ranked Bronchos prevailed 10-6 in an elimination game Saturday afternoon at Frost Stadium.
 
UCO improved to 54-8 and will meet No. 8 Grand Valley State at 10 a.m. (Oklahoma time) Sunday, needing to beat the Lakers twice to advance to the best-of-three finals against either Texas-Tyler or North Georgia.
 
"It was an absolute dogfight today," head coach Cody White said. "They have a really good team and they kept staying on it and we just could not put it away until the end.
 
"I was really proud of our team for sticking with it. I believe we answered every single run that they put up and that really showed our fight."

UCO led 5-0 and 6-1, but the pesky Cougars pulled within 6-5 with a four-run fourth and had runners on first and second with one out when Pipkin entered the game.
 
The sophomore right-hander got two quick outs to end that threat, then limited San Marcos to one run on three hits the rest of the way to pick up the win in improving to 20-4.
 
"I thought Jordyn was once again phenomenal," White said. "I thought she was good yesterday and didn't really get the breaks offensively or defensively (in a 6-3 loss to North Georgia). Her momentum is just getting stronger and stronger and her confidence is getting stronger and stronger and we're excited about that."
 
Shayla Harper went 3-for-4 to lead the offense, while Rylee Lemos, Emily Deramus, Terin Ritz, Shayleigh Odom and Mikayla Rutland had two hits apiece.
 
The Bronchos appeared to take control of the game after erupting for five runs on four hits in the second to go up 5-0.
 
Harper got things going with a one-out infield single, Ritz followed with a bloop hit to right-center and Odom walked to load the bases. The Cougars got a force at home on a fielder's choice grounder that kept the bases full and Rutland was hit by pitch to drive in a run.
 
Lemos made it 2-0 with an RBI single, then Deramus ripped a three-run double to right field to give the Bronchos the big early lead.
 
"As a freshman she's one of the most clutch players that I've coached," White said of Deramus. "She's very mentally strong and so in those situations that's the person you want up.
 
"We have a lot of offense throughout our lineup, one through nine, but Emily has done it time after time. Seeing her in that big moment for our team to cash in was big and it really got the momentum going for us."
 
UCO answered a San Marcos run with one of its own in the top of the fourth. Odom singled through the right side to lead off, went to second on Tatum Long's sacrifice bunt and took third on Rutland's base hit before scoring on an error.
 
The Cougars made things interesting with their fourth-inning outburst that Pipkin quelled, then UCO answered with three runs of its own in the top of the fifth.
 
Jacee Minter reached on a one-out error, Harper drove a double to left-center and Ritz had an infield single to load the bases for Odom, who drove in two runs with a bloop single to right-center. Rutland added an RBI single to left-center to up the lead to 9-5.
 
The Cougars pushed across one run in the sixth, but UCO responded in the seventh on an RBI triple by Lemos.
 
The Bronchos committed two uncharacteristic errors, but still got outstanding defensive plays from Harper and Lemos. Harper knocked down several hard-hit balls at third and snared a line shot that led to a game-ending double play in the seventh, while Lemos made two diving catches in right field.
 
"We came out with a lot of fire and energy and excitement and the byproduct was good play," White said. "We still made some mistakes today, but did a lot better minimizing those. We're excited about tomorrow and what we have a chance to do."
 
 
 
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