Ritz continues to dominate as Bronchos winning streak extends to 10

The Bronchos softball team played their last conference games at home over the weekend and celebrated their senior day with four wins.

Their first game against Nebraska-Kearney was a shutout, led by the Shohei Ohtani of softball, Terin Ritz. She threw four shutout innings and smacked a home run into center field to shutout the Lopers 11-0. The Lopers would strike back with a sixth inning comeback, tying the second game 4-4. But Kennedy Clark would deliver the walk off hit with a line drive to first base to sweep the Lopers 5-4. 

Senior Day was celebrated before the doubleheader against Fort Hays State. Five seniors, pitchers Terin Ritz, Sydney Ward, Kaylee Bradley and Jordyn Pipkin and catcher Layne Smith were all honored.

Central started it with a Terin Ritz two-run home run in the first inning. Kya Watson would hit a single in the fourth to extend the lead to three. Fort Hays would try to mount a comeback but would only score one run as Ritz pitched a complete game with eight strikeouts as UCO won 3-1. 

The final game of the doubleheader would start off poorly as Fort Hays catcher Madison Pierce would hit a solo home run in the first inning and shut out the Bronchos in the first as well. Then the game got flipped upside down. Central scored 13 runs in the second inning, capped off by a Brooklyn Ryan grand slam down the left field line. Fort Hays needed three pitchers to get out of the second inning alone. The runs wouldn’t stop as four runs were scored in the third inning and three more in the fourth inning, including Terin Ritz’s sixth straight game with a home run with this one going over the scoreboard in left center field and pitcher Shelby Beard, in her first plate appearance of the season, smacking another home run off the scoreboard as the Bronchos crushed the Tigers 20-1. 

The Bronchos sit at 37-6 overall with a conference record of 16-2, good for first place in the MIAA.