Bronchos Resume Season Tuesday At SNU

Central Oklahoma Makes Midweek Trip Across Metro For Non-Conference Doubleheader

No. 12-ranked Central Oklahoma returns to action after a nine-day break Tuesday when the Bronchos make the short drive to Bethany to take on Southern Nazarene in a 1 p.m. doubleheader at Tere Webber Field.

UCO is 7-5 on the season, while the Crimson Storm are 10-7.

"It's a long season, so it was good to give the girls a couple of days off," head coach Cody White said. "It was a nice break, but we also practiced hard and were able to spend time working to correct some things.

"SNU has been playing really well lately and we know it's going to be a tough battle. We have to come out ready to play our best every game because every team we meet is going to be gunning for us."

UCO follows up Tuesday's twin bill with a trip to Springfield, Mo. this weekend for four games in two days at the Drury Classic.

ABOUT THE BRONCHOS: UCO hasn't played since Feb. 18 when the Bronchos rolled over No. 21 Southern Arkansas (10-2) and Southwestern Oklahoma (9-1) on the final day of Raising Cane's Festival.

Central went 3-1 in that event, with one game canceled by cold weather. The Bronchos have won six of their last seven games in overcoming a 1-4 start.

Senior outfielder Jacee Minter leads the offense with a .424 average. She also paces the team in hits (14), home runs (five), runs batted in (17), slugging percentage (.939) and on-base percentage (.500) while sharing the lead in runs (10).

Minter continues to climb up the ladder in several career categories with the Bronchos. She ranks fourth in doubles (52), fifth in home runs (39) and RBI (172), sixth in runs (149) and tied for eighth in hits (213).

Four other regulars are hitting .300 or better – sophomore outfielder Rylee Lemos (.351), junior third baseman McKenna Johnson (.333), sophomore shortstop Emily Deramus (.316) and junior pitcher/utility Terin Ritz (.300).

Lemos has three doubles, two homers and a team-high eight steals, while Johnson has three doubles and eight RBI – seven of those coming with two outs. Deramus tops the team in doubles (five) to go along with two homers and Ritz has three doubles, three homers and 11 RBI.

The Bronchos average 5.5 runs and 7.3 hits a game behind a .296 team average.

Ritz and junior Jordyn Pipkin have handled most of the pitching duties for UCO, having combined for all 12 starts and 57.1 of the team's 73.0 innings.

Ritz is 3-2 with a 2.93 earned run average in 27.2 innings. She's struck out 16 and walked only two, with opponents hitting just .214 against her.

Pipkin is also 3-2 and has a 3.64 ERA in 29.2 innings. She's fanned 12 and walked five while holding opponents to a .229 average.

Freshman Shelby Beard has the team's other win, that coming in relief. She has a 1.59 ERA in four appearances and 5.2 innings, having allowed just one earned run.

ABOUT THE CRIMSON STORM: Southern Nazarene has won five of its last six games and opened Great American Conference play by taking two of three from Arkansas Tech, which beat UCO during the Raising Cane's Festival.

The Crimson Storm are batting .322 as a team while averaging 5.3 runs and 8.1 hits per game.

Kristen Mullendore is hitting a sizzling .441 with six doubles to lead the offense. Hailey Evans is batting .385 with 15 RBI and Emma Green has a .375 average.

Janie Worthington tops the pitching staff with a perfect 7-0 record and paltry 1.26 ERA. She's thrown two shutouts and has struck out 50 batters in 39 innings.

The Bronchos beat SNU on Feb. 10 for the ninth straight time, increasing their series lead to 18-1.

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Players Mentioned

#5 Emily Deramus: IF; 5' 8"; Sophomore; R/R

#8 Rylee Lemos: OF; 5' 6"; Sophomore; L/R

#12 Jacee Minter: OF; 5' 6"; Senior; R/R

#15 Jordyn Pipkin: P; 5' 6"; Junior; R/R

#99 Terin Ritz: P/1B; 5' 8"; Junior; R/R

#11 Shelby Beard: P; 5' 9"; Freshman; R/R

#22 McKenna Johnson: IF; 5' 6"; Junior; R/R

Players Mentioned

#5 Emily Deramus
: 5' 8"; Sophomore; R/R
: IF

#8 Rylee Lemos
: 5' 6"; Sophomore; L/R
: OF

#12 Jacee Minter
: 5' 6"; Senior; R/R
: OF

#15 Jordyn Pipkin
: 5' 6"; Junior; R/R
: P

#99 Terin Ritz
: 5' 8"; Junior; R/R
: P/1B

#11 Shelby Beard
: 5' 9"; Freshman; R/R
: P

#22 McKenna Johnson
: 5' 6"; Junior; R/R
: IF