Softball 2/21/2025 8:00:00 AM

Bronchos Head To Kansas For Washburn Invitational

No. 13 UCO Will Play Six Games in Three Days in Topeka

No. 13-ranked Central Oklahoma goes on the road for six games this weekend when the Bronchos travel to Topeka, Kan. for the three-day Washburn Invitational.

The tournament was originally scheduled for Friday-Saturday-Sunday before winter weather pushed it back to Sunday-Monday-Tuesday, with UCO set to play two games each day.

The Bronchos (9-2) open against Missouri S&T (0-9) at 9:30 a.m. Sunday before taking on Concordia-St. Paul (1-3) at 3:30 p.m. UCO returns Monday to face Wayne State (4-0) at 9:30 a.m. and Minnesota State-Mankato (2-2) at 11:30 a.m., then finishes Tuesday against Minot State (7-2) at noon and Maryville (6-3) at 4 p.m.

"It's been a hectic few days for everybody getting the schedule figured out with the weather and other issues," head coach Cody White said. "Washburn did a great job getting everything put together and we're looking forward to getting back on the field.

"Obviously we haven't been able to do any work outside with the cold and snow, but everybody else is in the same boat. We've done what we can inside and hopefully we can get a couple of practices outside before we play our first game up there."

ABOUT THE BRONCHOS: UCO went 2-1 last weekend at the weather-impacted Raising Cane's Festival at Gerry Pinkston Stadium, bouncing back from a 5-2 first-game loss to Arkansas Tech with run-rule routs of Southwestern Oklahoma (15-2) and Rockhurst (11-0).

The Bronchos are hitting .343 as a team while averaging 8.0 runs a game and are giving up 3.45 runs a contest behind a 2.54 team earned run average.

Three players are hitting .400 or better – Terin Ritz (.464), Ariah Mitchell (.423) and Brooklyn Ryan (.400).

Ritz has three doubles, two triples, one home run and 20 runs batted in to go along with three stolen bases. The senior All-American has an .821 slugging percentage and .600 on-base percentage.

Mitchell has one double and five RBI, while Ryan has two homers, one double and three RBI.

Shelby Beard leads the pitching staff with a 5-0 record and 0.46 ERA in 15.1 innings, with opponents batting just .204 against her. Ritz is 2-2 with a 2.07 ERA in a team-high 23.2 innings, having issued just four walks.

Head coach Cody White has moved into a tie with Gerry Pinkston for the second-most wins in program history with 455. White is 455-162 in his 12th year at the helm, trailing all-time leader Genny Stidham by 20 wins.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Bronchos increased their series lead over Missouri S&T to 3-0 with a 10-2 at home on Feb. 8 during the UCO/OC Classic. The Miners are batting .200 as a team in averaging 2.22 runs a game and give up 7.1 runs a contest with a 6.59 team ERA.

Concordia-St. Paul averages 4.0 runs with a .243 average and gives up 5.0 runs with a 4.31 ERA. UCO won both previous meetings with the Golden Bears.

Wayne State is off to a 4-0 start and has yet to give up a run. The Wildcats are hitting .390 as a team while averaging 8.0 runs a game. The Bronchos have a 15-8 series advantage.

MSU-Mankato averages 3.75 runs a game with a .250 team average and gives up 4.0 runs with a 3.25 team ERA. The Mavericks own an 8-1 series lead over UCO.

Minot State is hitting .261 as a team in averaging 4.44 runs an outing and allows just 2.22 behind a 1.86 ERA. The Bronchos have a 2-1 series edge over the Beavers.

Maryville is scoring 5.56 runs a game with a .288 average while giving up 3.20 with a 3.44 team ERA. UCO beat the Saints last year in the only previous meeting between the two teams.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

#7 Brooklyn Ryan: OF; 5' 4"; Sophomore; R/R

#22 Ariah Mitchell: UT; 5' 4"; Freshman; L/R

Players Mentioned

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

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

#7 Brooklyn Ryan
: 5' 4"; Sophomore; R/R
: OF

#22 Ariah Mitchell
: 5' 4"; Freshman; L/R
: UT