Skip To Main Content

University of Central Oklahoma Athletics

The Official Site of Central Oklahoma University Athletics Central Oklahoma Athletics
Kade Sheldon
7
Winner Central Oklahoma UCO 26-24, 17-19 MIAA
6
Northwest Mo. St. NWMSU 35-15, 25-11 MIAA
Winner
Central Oklahoma UCO
26-24, 17-19 MIAA
7
Final
6
Northwest Mo. St. NWMSU
35-15, 25-11 MIAA
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Central Oklahoma UCO 0 0 0 3 1 1 2 0 0 7 10 1
Northwest Mo. St. NWMSU 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 6 8 0

W: Wittau, Tristan (1-0) L: Logan Brasel (3-3) S: Hudspeth, Zack (1)

Game Recap: Baseball | | Chris Brannick

Bronchos Win Series At Northwest, Turn To Postseason

Central Oklahoma Wins Regular Season Finale 7-6 At Northwest Missouri

MARYVILLE, Mo. – Central Oklahoma ended the regular season on a high note with a 7-6 win Saturday at No. 23 Northwest Missouri.
 
UCO finishes the 2026 regular season 26-24 overall and 17-19 in the MIAA. The Bronchos finished tied for eighth with Washburn and the two will meet in the first round of the MIAA Baseball Championship Wednesday in Edmond.
 
Central Oklahoma is hosting the 10-team, single elimination tournament May 6-9 at Wendell Simmons Field. UCO and Washburn meet in the No. 8/9 game right after No. 7 Missouri Western and No. 10 Fort Hays State play in the other first round game.
 
Pittsburg State won the regular season title and will face the lowest advancing seed on Thursday in Edmond. No. 2 seed Rogers State will face the higher advancing seed on Thursday. Other quarterfinal games include No. 4 Northwest Missouri vs. No. 5 Central Missouri and No. 3 Missouri Southern vs. No. 6 Emporia State.
 
The semifinals are scheduled for Friday afternoon and the championship game, which determines the MIAA's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, is scheduled for Saturday, May 9 at 1 p.m.
 
In the first two games at Northwest this weekend, Central Oklahoma jumped out to a lead in the top of the first inning. Saturday, the Bronchos would go three-up, three-down in the first and trailed 2-0 after the bottom half of the inning.
 
But a fourth-inning rally gave UCO a 3-2 lead, then runs in the fifth and sixth made it 5-2. It was 7-4 at the seventh-inning stretch and the Bronchos hung on for the 7-6 win.
 
Kamden Thompson got the start for the Bronchos and threw 3.0 innings, giving up two runs on three hits and five walks. He struck out one batter. Tristan Wittau threw 2.2 out of the bullpen and earned the win. He gave up two runs on one hit and three walks. Wittau struck out two batters.
 
Zack Hudspeth threw the final 3.1 innings and was credited with a save. He also gave up two runs on four hits and a walk and struck out one batter.
 
UCO took the lead in the top of the fourth on one swing of the bat. Trevor Rowe hit a one-out single and Elijah Alexander a two-out single. Kade Sheldon was up next and took a 1-0 pitch over the fence for a three-run home run that put the Bronchos in front, 3-2.
 
Carson Taylor and Rowe hit back-to-back doubles in the fifth with Rowe scoring Taylor on the second hit to make it 4-2. Luke Stout scored on a wild pitch in the sixth to make it 5-2.
 
After NWMSU rallied in the sixth, UCO extended the lead back to three in the top of the seventh inning. Taylor drew a walk before Rowe sent one over the fence to make it 7-4.
 
Rowe went 3-for-5 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Alexander went 2-for-4 with one run. Gage Gilchrist, Taylor, Sheldon, Stout, and Noah Smallwood all had one hit each.
 
Central Oklahoma will head to the postseason and meets a familiar foe. The No. 9 seed Bronchos face No. 8 Washburn on Wednesday. Washburn won 2 of 3 in Edmond on the first weekend in March. The two met in the 2022 MIAA tournament and Washburn swept a best-of-three series 2-0 in Edmond. The same thing happened in the 2024 postseason tournament. UCO also lost to Washburn in an elimination game in the 2016 MIAA Baseball Champion. The Bronchos are 0-5 against WU in postseason play, but are 26-17 against Washburn since 2013.
 
 
 
 
Print Friendly Version
Skip Ad
Skip Sponsors