EDMOND - Limited to four hits Northeastern State lost its opening round game 7-1 to No. 1 ranked Central Oklahoma in the MIAA Tournament on Wednesday.
Sierra Crick had the RiverHawks lone run on a homer in the fourth as they fell to 26-26 overall.
Gail Young (17-12) tossed 4 2/3 innings and struck out two batters.
Sydney Balderrama came in relief and recorded the final five outs.
After two scoreless, Central (42-5) did two-out damage with a double down the right field line to score one. UCO's next batter found a hole through the right side to plate two more runs.
In the fourth, Crick put NSU on the scoreboard with a solo homer on a 2-2 pitch that just went over the 204 feet sign in left field. However, in the bottom half of the inning, UCO extended their lead on a ground ball RBI, and a single to left center to go up 5-1.
The Bronchos extended their lead to six in the fifth scoring on a sac fly and a single to center field.
Northeastern State will continue to play Thursday at 11 a.m. against Lindenwood in an elimination game. The RiverHawks swept the Lions on the road in regular season play.
