JOPLIN, Mo. – No. 11-ranked Central Oklahoma looks to earn a repeat trip to the NCAA Division II Championship Finals this week when the Bronchos take on MIAA rival and No. 5 Missouri Southern in the Central Super Regional.
UCO (45-14) meets the Lions (51-7) in a best-of-three series starting at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Pat Lipira Softball Complex. The teams play again at 3 p.m. Friday, with the "if necessary" game to follow.
MSSU is the top seed and UCO the third seed in the eight-team Central Region that consists of teams from the MIAA, the Great American Conference and the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. The Lions won the Central Region I Tournament at home last weekend while the Bronchos claimed the Central Region II Tournament crown in Pittsburg, Kansas.
"What an honor it is to be one of the final two teams representing the Central Region," head coach Sam Maples said. "It's another testament to the MIAA with our opponent being Missouri Southern. Our conference prepares us so well for the postseason and our team is ready for a battle in Joplin.
"This week has been awesome and I think we've had very productive preparation getting ready to face top pitching from Missouri Southern. You should have to beat someone great to make it to the World Series and this will be an incredibly competitive set of games between two elite teams. I can't wait to step on the field with ours."
The UCO-MSSU winner joins seven other regional champions in the Division II Championship Finals that will be held May 28-June 3 in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
The Bronchos qualified for the Division II Championship Finals in 2006, 2012, 2013, 2023 and 2025, winning the national championship in 2013.
UCO IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
The Bronchos are making their seventh straight Division II national tournament appearance and the 18th overall, all since 2002. UCO has a 53-39 national playoff record.
This will be the seventh super regional for the Bronchos, who have an 8-7 record in their previous appearances.
UCO earned super regional series wins over Angelo State (2-1) on the road in 2012, Winona State (2-0) at home in 2013, Southern Arkansas (2-1) at home in 2023 and Augustana (2-1) at home in 2025. Central lost to Augustana (2-0) at home in 2019 and to Rogers State (2-0) on the road in 2022.
The Bronchos also captured a regional title in 2006 when it was an eight-team event.
UCO's Division II playoff record by season:
2002: (1-2)
2005: (2-2)
2006: (5-2 – 4-0 in South Central Regional, 1-2 in Championship Finals)
2008: (1-2)
2010: (0-2)
2012: (7-4 – 5-2 in South Central Regional, 2-2 in Championship Finals)
2013: (9-0 – 5-0 in Central Regional, 4-0 in Championship Finals)
2014: (1-2)
2015: (1-2)
2016: (1-2)
2017: (1-2)
2019: (3-3 – lost in Central Super Regional to Augustana)
2021: (1-2)
2022: (3-3 – lost in Central Super Regional to Rogers State)
2023: (7-3 – 5-1 in Central Regional, 2-2 in Championship Finals)
2024: (1-2)
2025: (3-0)
2026: (3-1)
ABOUT THE SERIES
UCO owns a 39-11 lead over the Lions in a series that started in 1985. MSSU swept a home doubleheader from the Bronchos on April 25 in the regular season league meeting, winning 6-3 and 6-1 while allowing just nine total hits. The teams have never met in an NCAA playoff game.
ABOUT LAST WEEK
UCO went 3-1 to capture the Central Region II title in Pittsburg, Kansas. The Bronchos opened with a six-inning 12-4 run-rule romp over Winona State, then trimmed Rogers State 4-3 to make the finals. Host and No. 2-seed Pittsburg State beat UCO 4-1 to force the "if necessary" game, but the Bronchos dominated that contest from the outset and coasted to a 12-1 rout that ended after five innings.
SEASON RECAP
UCO was No. 11 in the preseason NFCA poll and has been ranked in the top 20 all season, making it as high as No. 7. The Bronchos finished runner-up to Missouri Southern in the MIAA with an 18-6 record.
Central went 1-1 in the MIAA Softball Championship before bouncing back to win last week's Central Region II Tournament. The Bronchos have reached the 45-win mark for the eighth time in school history, including the fourth time in five years.
UCO had 11 players earn All-MIAA recognition, led by senior outfielder Rylee Lemos' selection as both Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. Lemos was joined on the First Team unit by senior second baseman Rylee Anglen, while freshman outfielder Haley Gallo and sophomore designated player Brooklyn Lyles were Second Team selections.
Third Team honors went to junior pitcher Shelby Beard, freshman pitcher Carleigh Kinnaird, senior first baseman Kennedy Clark, sophomore catcher Jenna Jobe and senior outfielder Brooklyn Ryan. Freshman shortstop Hannah Demoff and senior third baseman Sherri Mason received Honorable Mention accolades.
Anglen, Lemos and Ryan also made the MIAA Gold Glove team. It was the second straight year for Anglen and Lemos to earn that honor, with Lemos named Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season.
Lemos was also named Central Region Player of the Year by the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) and a First Team All-Central Region pick by both the D2CCA and the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA). Anglen earned Second Team D2CCA All-Central Region honors.
The Bronchos are 28-11 in away games this season, having gone 17-5 in neutral site contests and 11-6 in true road games. The Bronchos were 17-3 at Gerry Pinkston Stadium.
POWER AT THE PLATE
The Bronchos are batting .354 as a team in averaging 9.44 hits and 7.19 runs per game, having scored 10-plus runs 13 times. UCO has hit a school-record 123 doubles while needing four runs and six runs batted in to break those single-season team marks.
All nine regulars are batting .324 are better, with Lemos leading the way. The MIAA and Central Region Player of the Year tops the team in average (.405), at bats (190), runs (64), hits (77), triples (seven), RBI (71) and on base percentage (.498) while being tied in slugging percentage (.789). She also has 14 homers and 17 doubles.
Lemos has had 22 multi-hit and 19 multi-RBI games along with three hitting streaks of nine-plus games. She hit .538 (7-for-13) with two homers and six RBI in the Central Region II Tournament.
Jobe has upped her average to .394 with 21 doubles, four homers and 32 RBI. She has 19 multi-hit games and hit .583 (7-for-12) with five runs, a homer and four RBI last weekend.
Gallo is batting .389 with a team-high 15 homers and is tied for the team lead in doubles (21) and slugging percentage (.789) to go along with 65 RBI. She has 18 multi-RBI and 16 multi-hit games and had a .462 average (6-for-13) with three homers, four RBI and six runs last week.
The rookie slugger has set freshman school records for homers and RBI and is tied for the doubles record. Gallo and Jobe are tied for fourth on the school single-season doubles list, while Gallo is also tied for seventh in homers and eighth in RBI.
Ryan has a .372 average with 15 doubles, five homers, 33 RBI and a team-high 17 steals. She's had 18 multi-hit games along with three hitting streaks of eight-plus games.
Demoff is batting .342 with 11 doubles, eight homers and 41 RBI. Clark is at .341 with nine homers, eight doubles and 64 RBI, which ranks ninth on the single-season school list.
Lyles (.331, 11 doubles, 32 RBI), Mason (.325, nine doubles, 25 RBI) and Anglen (.324, team-high 33 walks, 13 steals) round out UCO's offensive juggernaut.
LEMOS KEEPS CLIMBING
The senior star has made her way into the top eight in 11 career categories at UCO in stamping herself as one of the all-time greats in program history. Lemos owns records for runs scored (253) and triples (24) while ranking second in stolen bases (77), games played (242, all starts) and hit by pitch (38).
Lemos is also third in hits (294) and at bats (783), fourth in doubles (57), seventh in RBI (171), tied for seventh in homers (34) and ninth in average (.375). Lemos ranks in three single-season categories this year – tied for fourth in triples (seven) and RBI (71) and sixth in runs (64).
IN THE CIRCLE
Central is giving up just 5.81 hits and 3.27 runs a game behind a 2.89 team earned run average. The Bronchos have posted nine shutouts this season and have allowed three runs or less runs 37 times.
Beard and Kinnaird have paced the pitching staff all season, with that dynamic duo having accounted for 41 of UCO's 45 wins.
Beard is 23-7 – tied for eighth on the school single-season wins list – with a 3.23 ERA in 38 appearances with 32 starts, having thrown five-plus innings 18 times. She has 13 complete games with four shutouts and has struck out 127 batters while walking just 59. Beard earned two of UCO's three wins last weekend.
Kinnaird is 18-4 with four saves and a 2.69 ERA in 35 games with 24 starts. The rookie has 11 complete games with three shutouts – including a pair of one-hitters – and ranks ninth on UCO's single-season strikeout list with 154. Kinnaird had a win and a save last weekend, allowing just four hits and one run in 8.1 innings.
Freshman Madison Hamilton has come up big for the Bronchos down the stretch and has a 3-3 record with two saves. She's pitched in 22 games with three starts and owns a 2.33 ERA with 40 strikeouts in 57 innings.
STOUT DEFENSE
The Bronchos once again feature a stout defense, having made just 44 errors in 1,585 fielding chances over 59 games. Central hasn't committed an error in 27 games this season and had a .982 fielding percentage in four games at the Central Region II Tournament with only two errors in 112 chances.
Mason leads the team with 113 assists from her third base post, making 13 last weekend. Anglen has 100 assists at second and Demoff 87 at shortstop. Anglen ranks ninth in career assists with 346.
ABOUT THE COACH
Maples has directed the Bronchos to a fifth straight 40-win season in her first year with the program. It's also the third consecutive 40-win season for Maples, who led Oklahoma Baptist to 85 wins and back-to-back Great American Conference titles her last two years with the Bison. Maples has a 215-131 career record in seven years as head coach, spending six seasons at OBU before coming to the Bronchos.
ABOUT MISSOURI SOUTHERN
The Lions (51-7) enter the Central Super Regional riding a 15-game winning streak and are 16-1 at home. MSSU won the MIAA regular season and tournament titles, both for the first time since 2001.
MIAA Pitcher of the Year Kiki Pickens paces a pitching staff that has a 1.98 ERA while allowing just 2.45 runs and 5.08 hits a game. Pickens is 24-3 with a 1.63 ERA and has struck out 183 batters in 167.2 innings. Emily Davis has a 19-4 record and 1.84 ERA with 152 strikeouts in 152.0 innings, while Kadence Janney is 7-0 with a 3.10 ERA in 72.1 innings.
The Lions average 8.86 hits and 5.84 runs an outing behind four regulars batting .356 or better. MSSU has 155 stolen bases this season. Bailey Dillon is hitting .423 with 10 doubles, four triples, 28 RBI and 47 steals to lead the way. Carsen Tinkler (.380, seven homers, 35 RBI), Taylor Nuckolls (.376, 40 RBI, 29 steals) and Katie Gray (.356, 16 homers, 53 RBI) are other offensive stalwarts for MSSU.
