Baseball 3/14/2024 12:00:00 PM Chris Brannick

UCO Hosts Fort Hays State For Three-Game MIAA Series

Bronchos Welcome Tigers Of Hays, Kansas To Wendell Simmons Field

EDMOND – Central Oklahoma continues a week-long homestand as the Bronchos begin a three-game MIAA series with Fort Hays State this weekend at Wendell Simmons Field.

UCO (19-5, 6-4 MIAA) plays FHSU (18-6, 6-4) Friday at 5 p.m. in the first game. The two schools meet again Saturday at 3 p.m. and are scheduled to wrap up the series Sunday at 1 p.m.

Central Oklahoma and Fort Hays State are tied for fifth in the MIAA standings after three weeks of conference play plus one midweek league game. UCO dropped series against Central Missouri and Missouri Western before sweeping Newman and taking the first game against Northeastern State. Fort Hays dropped series against Missouri Southern and Rogers State before sweeping Northeastern State and taking the first game against Newman.

The Bronchos and the Tigers from Hays, Kansas have played 47 games dating back to 1984. Fort Hays earned an 11-6 lead in the all-time series between 1984-2003. The two schools have played 28 games since becoming MIAA rivals in 2013. Central Oklahoma leads the all-time series 27-20, with a 21-9 record since 2013.

Ninth-year head coach John Martin won his 250th game at UCO earlier this season. The Kansas native has an 18-6 record against Fort Hays State since taking over the program in 2016. Martin is 264-153-1 in eight-plus seasons with the Bronchos.

Central Oklahoma welcomes Fort Hays State to Edmond this weekend with the top-rated pitching staff in the MIAA. The Bronchos have a team earned run average of 3.94 through 24 games played, better than any other team in the league and the only team in the league below 4.00. UCO concedes just 3.75 runs per game on 7.7 hits per game with opponents hitting .252 against the Bronchos.

UCO has used Caleb Burchfield and Brett Pense regularly as starters, with a few others alternating in between the two. Burchfield has been UCO's Friday starter and is 3-1 this season with a 3.49 ERA in six starts. He has thrown 22 strikeouts in 28 1/3 innings. Pense is the Sunday starter with a 2.84 ERA and a 4-1 record on the bump. He has 20 strikeouts in 31 innings.

Brady Gilmore (1-0, 2.00) and Dax Sharp (1-0, 3.14) have combined to make seven starts this season. Valek Cisneros has 11 appearances as UCO's closer. The towering right-hander is 1-0 with a 5.54 ERA and has eight saves – the most of any pitcher in the country.

Offensively, Central Oklahoma is hitting .284 as a team, averaging 7.3 runs per game off 8.7 hits per game. The Bronchos have 210 total hits on the season through 24 games played, with almost 40 percent of its hits going for extra bases. UCO has 48 doubles, seven triples, and 27 home runs for a combined 82 extra-base hits this season.

Carson Carpenter leads the team with a .346 batting average. The junior outfielder has played in and started 23 of 24 games this season. He leads the team with eight homers and has a team-high six doubles. Carpenter has batted in 28 runs and scored 24 more himself.

Wyatt Gray is hitting .333, playing in 19 of 24 games mostly behind the plate. Gray has started 13 games. He has four doubles out of his 15 hits this season. Garrett Long is another regular hitting above .300 at .305. Long has five doubles and two home runs in 21 games played.

Cameron Uselton (.295) has nine extra-base hits including five doubles, three home runs, and one triple. He is 23-for-78 on the year. Ty Chapman (.259) has 14 hits in 21 games with a pair of doubles. Orlando Gonzalez (.250) is the only Broncho to play in all 24 games. He has 21 hits, including six doubles, four home runs, and one triple.

Kaleb Glass, who has missed the last eight games due to injury, is hitting .385 on the season. The senior outfielder was 20-for-52 through 15 games played with a double and two triples. He is also 10-for-11 stealing bases for the Bronchos and has 50 career stolen bases at UCO.

Fort Hays State has the fourth-best pitching staff in the MIAA with a 4.75 team ERA through 24 games played. The Tigers concede 5.3 runs per game on 8.3 hits per game. Offensively, FHSU averages 7.1 runs per game on 8.7 hits per game.

Brady Kreutzer (.355), Shaun Gomez (.348), and Elliott Herrmann (.345) have combined to hit 19 home runs this season, equal to the amount Hays' pitching staff has given up. Herrman's nine leads the team. Kreutzer has six and Gomez has four homers. Fort Hays has 31 as a team.

Central Oklahoma will have its first open midweek next week following the Fort Hays series. The Bronchos hit the road for a three-game MIAA series at Pittsburg State next weekend. UCO will also play at Northeastern State the following Tuesday for another midweek MIAA matchup before returning to Edmond to host Emporia State the last weekend in March.

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Players Mentioned

#32 Caleb Burchfield: P; 6' 3"; Senior; */R

#39 Valek Cisneros: P; 6' 5"; Senior; */R

#1 Kaleb Glass: OF; 6' 0"; Senior; R/R

#27 Orlando Gonzalez: IF; 6' 0"; Junior; R/R

#17 Wyatt Gray: C; 6' 1"; Senior; B/R

#12 Brett Pense: P; 6' 4"; Redshirt Freshman; */R

#3 Cameron Uselton: OF; 5' 11"; Senior; R/R

#9 Carson Carpenter: OF; 6' 2"; Junior; L/L

#13 Ty Chapman: IF; 6' 3"; Junior; R/R

#28 Brady Gilmore: P; 6' 1"; Junior; */R

Players Mentioned

#32 Caleb Burchfield
: 6' 3"; Senior; */R
: P

#39 Valek Cisneros
: 6' 5"; Senior; */R
: P

#1 Kaleb Glass
: 6' 0"; Senior; R/R
: OF

#27 Orlando Gonzalez
: 6' 0"; Junior; R/R
: IF

#17 Wyatt Gray
: 6' 1"; Senior; B/R
: C

#12 Brett Pense
: 6' 4"; Redshirt Freshman; */R
: P

#3 Cameron Uselton
: 5' 11"; Senior; R/R
: OF

#9 Carson Carpenter
: 6' 2"; Junior; L/L
: OF

#13 Ty Chapman
: 6' 3"; Junior; R/R
: IF

#28 Brady Gilmore
: 6' 1"; Junior; */R
: P