Newman bats too hot for UCO

Cameron Mavroulis (44) dives for a ball during a game between UCO and Newman in Edmond, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2012. Photo by Garett Fisbeck, The Vista.

Clear skies and winds out of the southwest was the perfect recipe for tons of offense on Tuesday afternoon, as the UCO Bronchos fell to familiar foe Newman University, 18-11.

The Bronchos (8-3), who have gotten off to a hot start in 2012, played host to a struggling Newman ball club, which had yet to find their rhythm on offense prior to Tuesday’s contest.

However, Newman (6-4) brought their bats to Wendell Simmons Field on Tuesday, using five homeruns and 20 hits to hand the Bronchos their worst loss of the season.

Led by Tanner Vinson (5-for-5, 2 HR, 7 RBI) and Corey Cowan (3-for-5, 2 HR, 6 RBI), the Jets scored in every inning except the third, and ran through six UCO pitchers.

“After a four-game sweep, human nature is to have a letdown,” said UCO head coach Dax Leone. “Especially when your pitchers don’t throw it in there, and work behind in the count, and tack on the wind, it happens.”

Powered by a fifth inning that saw eight runs on five hits (two homers), the Jets took control of the afternoon contest, and never looked back, as they took a commanding lead, going up 12-4.

Nonetheless, the resilient Broncho club wouldn’t bow out, as they responded with four runs of their own in the bottom of the fifth.

Doubles by Austin Rycroft and Jordan Mullin coupled with singles by Cameron Mavroulis and Kevin Blue saw the Bronchos answer with four runs of their own, to bringing themselves within four runs, trailing the Jets 12-8.

However, consistent hitting and run scoring by the Jets would keep the Bronchos from mounting any sort of a comeback.

Newman managed two runs in the sixth, one run in both the seventh and eighth, and added two more in the final inning, continuing to pile the runs on top of UCO in the latter part of the game.

“Its just one game, and our guys won’t think too much into it. It’s definitely not our brand of baseball, but give credit to Newman for swinging the bats well,” said Leone.

The senior Rycroft and the junior Mavroulis, who both had solid outings, paced UCO in the loss.

Rycroft finished the day 3-for-5 with two doubles and two RBI’s. Mavroulis was 3-for-4, with a HR and also knocked in two runs.

Leone is excited about his club, who managed 14 hits on Tuesday, as they move forward, into the deeper part of the season.

“We have a lot of returning guys in our lineup. We have started off on the right foot this year. This group of guys is a great group, and they play the game right. The good teams are the ones who can bounce back from a loss like this, so we’ll see,” said Leone.

The Bronchos travel to Texas A&M Kingsville this weekend for a three-game set before returning home next Tuesday to host Mid-America Christian University.