TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – No. 7-ranked Central Oklahoma opens a 14-game road swing Thursday when the Bronchos travel to Tahlequah, Oklahoma for the three-day Cherokee Nation Softball Festival.
UCO is 8-2 on the season and riding a five-game winning streak. The Bronchos will play five Great American Conference opponents at the newly opened Cherokee Fields, starting with a 2:30 p.m. contest Thursday against No. 24 Oklahoma Baptist (10-0).
The Bronchos return Friday to face Harding (4-5) at 11 a.m. and Arkansas-Monticello (5-3) at 4 p.m. before taking on No. 11 Southern Arkansas (10-0) and Southeastern Oklahoma (4-6) at 1:30 p.m. Friday.
"We're eager to be tested this weekend by some very worthy opponents," first-year head coach Sam Maples said. "Our team is really starting to mesh nicely and we're finding our identity as a group.
"We've had some comeback wins and close ballgames that I think will prove to be great experience for us down the stretch. I expect to have very competitive matchups this weekend with a postseason feel."
It's the first of three straight weekend tournaments for the Bronchos. UCO goes to Topeka, Kansas Feb. 21-22 for four games in the Washburn Invitational and then to Shawnee, Kan. Feb. 27-March 1 for five games in the Midwest College Classic.
Central doesn't return home until hosting Drury on March 7.
ABOUT THE BRONCHOS
UCO went unbeaten at home last weekend in the UCO/OC Classic, highlighted by a dramatic final-inning comeback and a record-setting rout.
The Bronchos blanked Fort Lewis in their opening game, then scored five runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to slip past Eastern New Mexico 6-5. UCO followed that with a 26-7 annihilation of New Mexico Highlands before beating Black Hills State 7-2 in the finale.
The 26 runs against NMHU broke the previous record of 23 set during the 1983 season in a 23-2 win over Southwestern Oklahoma State. Central also finished with 24 runs batted in to break the previous record of 19 established last year against Fort Hays State and ended with 20 hits, just one shy of the record.
Senior All-American Rylee Lemos tied her own single-game record with two triples in the NMHU win in becoming UCO's all-time leader. She added another triple in the BHSU win and now has 20 for her career.
Lemos also ranks in the top 10 in six other career categories – third in runs (201), third in hit by pitch (34), fourth in stolen bases (64), seventh in doubles (45), eighth in hits (229) and ninth in at bats (631).
Junior Brooklyn Ryan led the offense, hitting .533 (8-for-15) in the four games with five runs and four RBI. Senior Kennedy Clark and freshman Haley Gallo both hit .461, with each going 6-for-13. Clark drove in six runs and Gallo scored six.
Freshman Carleigh Kinnaird was the leader in the circle. She went 3-0 while appearing in all four games and gave up just five hits, three runs and two walks in 13.2 innings with 18 strikeouts.
The Bronchos are batting .344 as a team and have four players hitting .400 or better – Ryan (.433), sophomore Jenna Jobe (.419), Gallo (.407) and Clark (.406). Lemos is hitting .314 with a team-high 18 RBI.
Kinnaird is off to an impressive start in her rookie season. The right-hander is 5-0 with a 3.54 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 29.2 innings, with opponents hitting just .162 against her.
Junior Shelby Beard is 3-1 with a 2.82 ERA in 27.1 innings.
