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University of Central Oklahoma Athletics

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Mikayla Rutland
UCO Photo Services
Mikayla Rutland
5
Rogers State RSU 43-11
9
Winner Central Oklahoma UCO 46-6
Rogers State RSU
43-11
5
Final
9
Central Oklahoma UCO
46-6
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Rogers State RSU 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 5 5 0
Central Oklahoma UCO 1 1 4 0 0 3 X 9 10 0

W: Ritz, Terin (20-1) L: Kaci Phelps (0-1)

Game Recap: Softball |

Rutland, Ritz Shine As UCO Rallies Past Hillcats

TOPEKA, Kan. (May 6) – Being at the bottom of the batting order doesn't mean much when you're part of Central Oklahoma's powerful lineup and Mikayla Rutland proved that in emphatic fashion Saturday afternoon.
 
The senior second baseman went 3-for-3 with two home runs, her first career triple and four runs batted in from her No. 9 spot while also playing suffocating defense to propel the No. 4-ranked Bronchos past No. 9 Rogers State 9-5 in the MIAA Softball Championship winners bracket finals.
 
UCO belted five homers in the contest and got another sensational pitching effort from Terin Ritz in overcoming an early 5-1 deficit to surge past the Hillcats at the wind-blown Envista Softball Complex.
 
The Bronchos, now 46-6 and riding a 15-game winning streak, will take on the Missouri Southern in the finals at 11 a.m. Sunday, with the Lions needing to beat UCO twice to win the tournament title and the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Division II national tournament.
 
"Mikayla plays as hard as anybody I've ever coached and she had a game today," head coach Cody White said. "She was locked in at the plate and made a lot of things happen, but her defense was off the charts as well.
 
"We didn't panic when we got down, which was important. We just had to keep being ourselves and eventually we got things turned around. It was a great game."
 
UCO appeared to be in trouble after falling behind 5-1 in the top of the second, but Ritz took over the pitching reigns and overpowered the Hillcats over the final 5 1/3 innings to keep the Bronchos in it. The Rutland-led offense did the rest.
 
"I'm sure they (Rogers) were feeling pretty good after getting the 5-1 lead, but we knew there was a lot of time left," White said. "Terin pitched great, our defense was lights out and our hitters did what they do."

RSU broke on top 1-0 in the top of the first, but the Bronchos tied it in their half of the inning without a hit. Rylee Lemos, Amelya Huggins and Jacee Minter walked to load the bases before Lemos dashed home on Shayla Harper's groundout.
 
The Hillcats hit a three-run homer and solo shot in taking their 5-1 lead in the top of the second, with Rutland getting one run back in the bottom of the frame on a solo shot to left field.
 
UCO erupted for four runs in the third to take a lead it wouldn't relinquish.
 
Harper punched her 14th homer to right field to get the two-out rally started and Ritz followed with a massive blast to right-center for her 10th dinger. Tatum Long and Shayleigh Odom had infield hits to keep things going, then Rutland put the Bronchos on top 6-5 with a two-run triple to right-center – the first of her 128-game UCO career.
 
It stayed 6-5 until the sixth when Central added three insurance runs it didn't really need.
 
Rutland was the sparkplug once again, leading off with a no-doubt blast to center field for her ninth homer – followed by a spirited bat flip. Lemos was hit by pitch, then Emily Deramus blasted a long drive over the right-center field fence for her 11th homer to make it 9-5.
 
Ritz finished off the come-from-behind win in the seventh, running her record to 20-1. The sophomore right-hander came on with two outs in the second and retired the first 11 batters she faced before giving up a one-out single in the sixth.
 
That was the only hit RSU managed against Ritz, who walked one and struck out one.
 
Rutland's 3-for-3 performance led a 10-hit attack, while Harper added two hits. UCO's defense was superb once again with no errors and two double plays.
 
Rutland made two outstanding plays from her second base spot in the fifth inning. She sprinted back to make an over-the-shoulder catch in short right-center field on what looked like a sure hit, then stopped a hard-hit grounder up the middle and threw out the runner from her knees.
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