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Team
4
Mo. Southern St. MSSU 40-13
11
Winner Central Oklahoma UCO 47-6
Mo. Southern St. MSSU
40-13
4
Final
11
Central Oklahoma UCO
47-6
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Mo. Southern St. MSSU 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 4 9 0
Central Oklahoma UCO 0 4 0 2 4 1 X 11 9 0

W: Ritz, Terin (21-1) L: Avery Tallman (20-3)

Game Recap: Softball |

Bronchos Capture MIAA Tourney Title

TOPEKA, Kan. (May 7) – Add the MIAA Softball Tournament title to Central Oklahoma's regular season championship.
 
Terin Ritz and Mikayla Rutland polished off dominating tournament performances as the No. 4-ranked Bronchos clobbered Missouri Southern 11-4 Sunday afternoon at the Envista Softball Complex to cap a perfect 4-0 run through the field.
 
It was the 16th straight win for UCO, which improved to 47-6 in earning the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Division II national tournament. That 64-team field will be announced Monday morning, with the Bronchos expected to host a four-year Central Regional Tournament this weekend at Gerry Pinkston Stadium.
 
"We battled hard all game long and it paid off for us," said head coach Cody White, whose team captured its third MIAA tournament crown. "This team continues to grow and we became a closer group this week. They were ready to play today."
 
Ritz went the distance in the circle and threw 139 pitches in warm, muggy conditions. The sophomore right-hander allowed nine hits and walked four, but kept the Lions in check and earned all four wins in improving to 21-1 on the season.
 
Rutland went 2-for-3 with a home run and earned tournament Outstanding Player honors after batting .600 (6-for-10) with four homers and nine runs batted in.
 
Ritz and Rutland were joined on the all-tournament team by Jacee Minter, Shayleigh Odom, Tatum Long and Shayla Harper.

"I can't say enough about what Terin did today," White said. "It was hot at there and the wind was blowing out, but she fought hard. And what else can I say about Mikayla? She brings so much energy to the team and is always, always ready to go.
 
"Everybody stepped up today. We had players making things happen up and down the lineup, both offensively and defensively, and that's what we need to have."
 
MSSU opened the game with two straight hits, but Ritz got out of that jam with a lineout to left fielder Minter and consecutive foul popups to catcher Layne Smith.
 
The Lions took a 1-0 lead in the second on a solo homer and UCO answered with four runs – on just two hits – in its half of the inning.
 
Harper led off with a triple to right-center and sped home on Ritz's short sacrifice fly to right field, then Long followed with a single up the middle. And then MSSU couldn't find the strike zone.
 
Odom and Rutland walked to load the bases, with Rylee Lemos, Amelya Huggins and Minter all drawing RBI free passes to give the Bronchos a 4-1 lead.
 
The Lions had solo homers in the third and fourth to get within 4-3, but UCO scored twice in the fourth, four times in the fifth and once in the sixth to pull away.
 
Rutland opened the fourth with a single through the left side, Emily Deramus followed with a bloop single to left and both advanced on a wild pitch. Huggins then put down a squeeze bunt to drive in Rutland, Minter singled to right field and Harper added a sacrifice fly to make it 6-3.
 
The Bronchos put the game away in the fifth, following another MSSU solo shot with a pair of two-run blasts.
 
Odom drew a one-out walk and Rutland put an exclamation point on her Outstanding Player honor by crushing a no-doubt bomb to left field for her fourth homer of the tournament. Lemos followed with yet another walk and then Deramus drilled a line-drive over the right-center field fence.
 
UCO's final homer came in the sixth when Ritz took the first pitch she saw to start the inning and deposited it over the center field fence. That made it an 11-4 cushion and the celebration was about to begin.
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