Baseball 2/21/2025 10:00:00 AM Chris Brannick

Bronchos Open MIAA Play At Washburn

Central Oklahoma Plays Two Sunday, Once Monday For First League Series

TOPEKA, Kan. – No. 24 Central Oklahoma begins conference play Sunday with a doubleheader to begin its three-game series with Washburn.

The Bronchos are 9-2 this season and on a nine-game win streak heading into this weekend. UCO and Washburn will play at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Sunday, with a third game scheduled for Monday at 1 p.m. to wrap up the series.

"It's going to be a tough series, but every series in the MIAA is going to be that way," UCO head baseball coach John Martin said. "We just have to be ready for it. We're going to have to fight for it every inning of every game."

UCO started the season with losses to Missouri St. Louis and MSU Denver before bouncing back with wins over Southeastern Oklahoma State and East Central. The Bronchos went 4-0 in Week 2 with wins at Henderson State and at Ouachita Baptist with two more victories over Southern Arkansas on the weekend. This past weekend, UCO swept a three-game series with Colorado Christian.

UCO AT THE PLATE

Central Oklahoma has a .281 team batting average, posting 8.1 runs per game off 9.2 hits per game. Caden Robertson (.353) and Grant Randall (.395) have been named MIAA Hitter of the Week each of the last two weeks.

Robertson has a team-high four home runs to go with three doubles for seven extra-base hits out of the dozen hits he has this season. Randall has five doubles and one home run. Ty Chapman (.375) and Carson Carpenter (.262) both have a team-high six doubles.

Randall leads UCO with 17 hits, 17 runs scored, 25 total bases, and 10 stolen bases on 11 attempts.

UCO ON THE MOUND

Central Oklahoma brings a 5.12 ERA into this MIAA series. The Bronchos concede 5.18 runs per game off 8.18 hits per game through 11 games played. Starter Brett Pense (1-0) has a 7.36 ERA, Danny Satterlee (1-1) has a 3.00 ERA, Brady Gilmore (0-0) has a 6.75 ERA, and Caleb Burchfield (2-0) has a 5.40 ERA.

Pense has a team-high 16 strikeouts in 11 innings. Burchfield has 10 Ks in a team-high 15 innings pitched.

Valek Cisneros, UCO's All-American closer, has four saves already this season and the senior right-hander has 12 strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings pitched. Cisneros has 23 saves in his career, which is one short of tying UCO's all-time record and two short of tying the MIAA all-time record.

ABOUT WASHBURN

Washburn is 3-5 after three weeks of play this season. The Ichabods went 1-3 on opening weekend in Hot Springs, Arkansas playing the same schedule UCO did in Week 2 in Arkadelphia. WU beat HSU before losing to OBU and SAU twice. In four games in Florida, Washburn went 2-2 with losses to Lynn and Palm Beach Atlantic and wins against Nova Southeastern and Barry. Washburn canceled its three-game home series with Augustana last weekend.

In eight games, Washburn averages 4.6 runs per game off 8.5 hits per game. The Ichabods have a 5.56 team ERA, giving up 5.7 runs per game off 7.3 hits per game.

UP NEXT

Central Oklahoma will play its second MIAA series on the road next weekend at Emporia State, with the three-game series scheduled for Friday-Saturday-Sunday. UCO is scheduled to host Pittsburg State March 7-9 for its first MIAA home series in two weeks.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

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

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

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

#47 Caden Robertson: OF; 6' 4"; Senior; R/L

#1 Grant Randall: UT; 5' 10"; Senior; R/R

#24 Danny Satterlee: P; 6' 3"; Sophomore; */R

Players Mentioned

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

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

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

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

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

#47 Caden Robertson
: 6' 4"; Senior; R/L
: OF

#1 Grant Randall
: 5' 10"; Senior; R/R
: UT

#24 Danny Satterlee
: 6' 3"; Sophomore; */R
: P