PITTSBURG, Kansas – Four remarkable defensive plays and a powerful offensive assault propelled Central Oklahoma to a 12-4 shellacking of Winona State in the first round of the NCAA Division II Central Regional II Tournament Thursday afternoon.
The No. 11-ranked Bronchos kept Winona's high-octane attack at bay while pounding out 15 hits – seven for extra bases – and ended the game in the sixth inning on Haley Gallo's leadoff home run.
UCO improved to 43-13 and will take on MIAA rival Rogers State at 11 a.m. Friday. The No. 25-ranked Warriors meet host and No. 17 Pittsburg State in an elimination contest at 1:30 p.m., with the winner of that game taking on the UCO-RSU loser at 4 p.m.
Saturday's finals are set for noon, with the "if necessary" game at 2:30 p.m. The Central Regional II champion advances to meet the Central Regional I winner in a best-of-three series next week at a site to be determined.
"Our defense was just phenomenal," head coach Sam Maples said. "It was incredible. I'm really impressed with how the players handled today.
"I'm obviously super proud of the offensive attack. We gave up two runs early against a great Winona State lineup and did a great job responding. We worked ourselves into good hitter counts and I'm proud of that."
Winona struck for two runs in the top of the first to put the Bronchos in an early hole, with UCO's first big defensive gem coming in the second to keep it at 2-0. The Warriors tried to score on a wild pitch, but catcher Jenna Jobe tracked down the ball and rifled a bullet to third baseman Sherri Mason to get the runner at the plate.
Then Central's offense struck. And struck hard.
Kennedy Clark opened the bottom of the second with a first-pitch single to right field, Jobe followed with a base hit to left and both runners advanced on Hannah Demoff's sacrifice bunt.
Brooklyn Lyles plated the first run with a double to left field, Mason's deep sacrifice fly tied it and Rylee Anglen roped an RBI triple to left-center to put UCO on top. Rylee Lemos promptly made it 5-2 with a no-doubt blast over the right-center field wall for her 13th homer of the season.
The Warriors hit a solo homer in the third and had a runner on first when another big-time defensive play ended the inning. Speedy center fielder Brooklyn Ryan raced up to make a diving catch on a short fly ball, then hopped up to gun out the runner at first for a double play.
UCO added to its lead in its next at bat, with Gallo's leadoff double to left field getting things going.
Gallo moved to third on a wild pitch, scooted home on Clark's groundout and Jobe followed with a single. Demoff then made it an 8-3 cushion with a two-run bomb – her eighth – to center field.
Winona hit another solo homer in the fifth before Clark's diving stop on a hard-hit grounder to first helped get the Bronchos out of the inning. The Bronchos kept up their offensive pressure in bottom of the frame with another three-run volley.
Clark led off with a single up the middle, Jobe reached on an infield hit and Demoff lined a two-run double to left-center. Anglen followed with an infield single and Lemos did the same for an RBI hit that made it 11-4.
UCO's defensive heroics continued in the top of the sixth when Mason made a sensational diving grab on a hard-hit grounder down the line at third base and then made the long throw to first to get the runner.
The Bronchos ended it in the bottom of the sixth and it didn't take long.
Gallo greeted the first pitch she saw like it was a Christmas present and lofted it over the center field fence for her 13th homer to give UCO the eight-run rout.
Jobe went 3-for-3 with three runs scored to pace the offense. Lemos, Gallo, Clark, Demoff and Anglen added two hits apiece, with Demoff driving in four runs and Lemos three.
Shelby Beard got the start in the circle and earned the win, giving up seven hits and four runs while striking out seven in 4.1 innings to improve to 22-6. Carleigh Kinnaird closed it out with 1.2 hitless innings.
