EDMOND, OK  --  Miner Softball will be in Edmond, Oklahoma this weekend for the UCO/OC Festival. They start the weekend off with RV Pittsburg State on Friday morning, followed by #24 Oklahoma Christian later that day. Saturday's games will be against #9 Rogers State and #25 Central Oklahoma.
 

About the Gorillas
Pitt State just missed the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) preseason poll… receiving 24 votes, to #25 Central Oklahoma's 30. They had an incredible 2024 campaign, going 49-5 in the regular season and making it to both the MIAA championship game as well as the NCAA Regionals. They are 3-2 through their first five games of the 2025 season.
 
The Gorillas will be operating under new Head Coach Josh Barnes, who was hired from NJCCA Crowder College back in July. They returned several key players from last year, including Heather Arnett who led the MIAA in hitting percentage last season with .454.
 

About the Eagles
#24 Oklahoma Christian ended last year ranked fourth in the Lone Star Conference with a 27-15 LSC record. They lost in their first game of the LSC tournament, but would go on to sweep through their three games at the South Central Regional, taking down #1 West Texas A&M and #20 Angelo State in the process. Their season ended at the super regionals though, with a pair of losses to UT Tyler.
 
Pitcher Grace Anderson is back for her senior season and is off to a good start with a team-high 1.66 ERA in four appearances this season.
 

About the Hillcats
Rogers State is the highest ranked of S&T's opponents this weekend at #9. They are only 2-3 through the opening weekend though, dropping games against #6 Auburn Montgomery, RV Nova Southeastern, and Saint Leo. They were 46-12 last season, making it all the way to super regionals before falling to Augustana.
 
The Hillcats lost two-time MIAA Pitcher of the Year Sara Llamas-Howell to graduation over the offseason, leaving a void in their pitching game. They lost team hitting leader Paxton Donaldson as well. Abbey Rogers has been working to fill Donaldson's shoes though and has performed well early in the season, putting up a .400 batting average in 15 at bats.
 

About the Bronchos
#25 Central Oklahoma is the only undefeated team that the Miners will face this weekend, with the Bronchos entering the UCO/OC Festival 4-0 overall. Their biggest win this season came against #6 Auburn Montgomery on February 1st at the Gulf Shores Invitational.
 
The Bronchos returned two of their studs from last year with Rylee Lemos and Terin Ritz coming back for the 2025 season. Lemos led the team in batting average last year with a .384 average, while Ritz played a critical role both on the mound and at the plate, leading the team in ERA with 1.50 and recording the second-best batting average at .381.
 

About the Miners
The Miners are looking to bounce back after an 0-5 start to the season at Hawkins McGhee Memorial last week. Freshman pitcher Mia Miller (Waterloo, IL/) showed promise in the most recent game, only giving up 1 run in 9 innings pitched. She currently ranks 8th in the GLVC for ERA with 1.47 in 19 innings pitched. Only six GLVC batters have recorded a home run this season and the Miners claim two of them, with both Keira Jones (Richmond Hill, GA/Richmond Hill) and Tori Thompson (Chandler, AZ/) hitting one out of play.
 

What's Next
The Miners will be in Topeka, Kansas for the Washburn Invitational in two weeks with S&T set to play five games.

Follow Miners Softball on X and Instagram at miners_sb