Bronchos Rally to Upset Drury but Fall in the Final Game

Wendall Simmons Field– A rare bases loaded Balk with two outs in the bottom of the ninth gave Central Oklahoma a dramatic 5-4 victory over No. 17 Drury in a non-conference showdown Friday evening. 

UCO hosted Drury in a three-game series, going 2-1 against the Panthers this past weekend. 

Trailing most of Friday evening, Central Oklahoma fell behind 1-0 early, and in the blink of an eye, it was 3-0 before mounting a gritty comeback in game one.

The Bronchos finally broke through with a single run in the sixth, then one in the seventh, and another in the eighth to pull within a run at 4-3 heading into the ninth.

Drury closer Sam Petereson entered with two saves on the season but ran into trouble in the bottom of the ninth. 

After Elijah Alexander reached on an error to lead off, Peterson hit Caleb Castle with a pitch and followed with a single by Alexander, moving him to third and loading the bases. 

A wild pitch tied the game at 4-4. 

Colton Ayres was then plunked by a pitch, bringing Luke Stout up for what could have been the game-winning hit or a foray into extra innings. 

Stout was hit for the third time in the game, loading the bases with two outs.

Drury’s Markell Dixon induced a foul out by Drake Lee for the second out. 

With Lee at the plate on a 2-1 count, Dixon delivered what appeared to be the game-deciding pitch until Dixon began his delivery, and Castle trotted home for the walkoff win. 

The Bronchos produced all five of their runs on just six hits. 

Kade Sheldon paced UCO with a pair of singles, with Carson Taylor, Lee, Alexander, and Castle each contributing one hit apiece. All six UCO hits were singles. 

Central Oklahoma delivered a dominant pitching performance Saturday, shutting out Drury 4-0 to take game two in the series.

Pitching and defense carried UCO as Danny Satterlee worked six shutout innings to set the tone. He was followed by many other players, each tossing an inning of scoreless relief to preserve the lead. 

The Bronchos did not allow a Drury run and limited the Panthers to just seven hits on the night.

Offensively, Central Oklahoma seized control early and never relinquished it. 

UCO jumped on the Drury starter for six innings of work, collecting timely hits and manufacturing runs.

Central Oklahoma could not keep pace in Sunday’s finale, however, falling 12-7 to Drury in game three to drop the non-conference series at home. 

The loss drops UCO to 9-4 on the season, while Drury improves to 5-2. 

Senior infielder Hayden O’Toole said that UCO had a good weekend against a talented team.

“We knew coming into the weekend, we had to play well. We played good the first two games, and in the last game we were clawing and scratching trying to fight back, but came up short. We look forward to taking this momentum into conference play.”