Bronchos capture MIAA regular season crown

The UCO Bronchos softball team wrapped up their regular season Friday with a doubleheader sweep over Newman in Wichita, Kansas. With the victory and two Pittsburg State losses on Saturday, the Bronchos were the sole owner of the 2025 MIAA Regular Season Softball Championship, their sixth regular season title in their short history in the MIAA conference. 

It was a tale of two games for the Bronchos as the first game, the Bronchos were only able to muster up one run off a Brooklyn Ryan triple and the sophomore stealing home in the third inning. Terin Ritz took care of business in the circle, striking out 10 Jets batters, tying a career best. The second game was a dominating affair with UCO scoring 17 runs in four innings and shutting out the Jets again in a five inning, 17-0 drubbing of the Newman Jets. Central finishes the regular season with a record of 43-8 and an MIAA record of 20-4. Good for the best record in the conference. 

The MIAA Conference Tournament begins Wednesday April 30th in Hays, Kansas. The Bronchos have the number one seed in the tournament and will play on Thursday at 11 a.m. against the winner of #8 Emporia State and #9 Fort Hays State. UCO won both doubleheaders against both Emporia and Fort Hays this season. Should Central win that game, their semifinal matchup would be against the winner of #4 Missouri Southern and #5 Central Missouri, Friday May 2 at noon. A win there will advance them to the MIAA Championship game, which would be May 3 at noon.