#4 Bronchos Top Mavericks in NCAA Softball Region Opener
EDMOND, Okla. – No. 4 Central Oklahoma assembled a six-run fourth inning to doom Minnesota State in the opening game of the NCAA Division II Central Region Tournament at Gerry Pinkston Stadium. The top-seed Bronchos avenged a regular-season loss to the Mavericks and won 8-0 in five innings Thursday.
Minnesota State (38-19, 21-7 NSIC) plays Pittsburgh State on Friday, May 9 at 3:30 p.m. CT in an elimination game. Central Oklahoma (47-8, 20-4 MIAA) plays Friday at 1 p.m. CT.
Maddie Oetzmann started in the circle for the Mavericks. Rylee Lemos singled in a run in the bottom of the second inning for a 1-0 UCO lead. Then Terin Ritz hit a towering solo home run to right center field in the third, her 18th long ball of the season.
The Bronchos advantage escalated in the fourth, beginning with Mari Scott’s double to left field. With six runs on four hits, UCO sent 11 players to the plate in the frame. Sailor Hall relieved Oetzmann with runners on the corners and Hall hit Brooklyn Ryan with a pitch. Back-to-back singles by Emily Deramus and Ariah Mitchell made it 6-0 and Scott singled two runners home off of Brianne Stone.
Ritz improved to 19-3 with a 5.0 inning shutout and six strikeouts. Oetzmann (6-7) suffered the loss.
The Bronchos finished with nine hits. Cheyenne Behrends and Ryanne Mellum went 1-for-2 with singles for MSU. The Mavericks made their 19th NCAA appearance.
