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Season over, Aggies win 35 games
Portions of this release courtesy of Abilene Christian Sports Information.
ABILENE, Texas (May 5) – The Cameron Aggie baseball team (35-22) fell one victory short of tying the Cameron University school record for wins in a season this afternoon after ending their season with a 7-4, extra-inning (12) loss to the Javelinas of Texas A&M-Kingsville. CU started the Lone Star Conference Championship tournament on fire with a 20-2 victory over the Southeastern Oklahoma State Savage Storm on Saturday, but then lost to the Central Oklahoma Bronchos 12-6 last night to put them one loss away from elimination. Today's loss to TAMUK ends the 2008 season for the Cameron Aggie baseball team, who will now enter the offseason training portion of their schedule. CU will also say goodbye to ten influential senior players.
On Saturday Cameron opened up the tournament with the Savage Storm of Southeastern Oklahoma State. Cameron pounded out 27 hits and piled up 20 runs Saturday afternoon as the Aggies rolled past Southeastern Oklahoma State, 20-2, in the first round of the Lone Star Conference Post-Season Baseball Tournament at Crutcher Scott Field on the campus of Abilene Christian University.
Among the Aggies' 27 hits were six home runs and four doubles as they pounded five Southeastern pitchers. Jorey Price had two home runs and three RBI for the Aggies, while Josh Mathiesen went 4 for 5 with two home runs and six RBI. Cameron jumped on SOSU starting pitcher Kolby Williams for four runs in the first and then tacked on seven more in the second inning. Williams left after the third batter of the second inning and was charged with seven runs (six earned) as he took the loss to fall to 6-2 on the year.
After putting up four runs in the top of the first, Cameron added seven more in the second, two in the third, two in the fourth, two in the sixth and three in the seventh to win the game via the 10-run-rule. Brad Bichel went the distance on the mound for the Aggies, allowing just five hits and two runs (one earned) as he picked up the win to improve to 8-2 on the year.
The win over SOSU moved CU to a Sunday night game against the University of Central Oklahoma Bronchos, whom Cameron had beaten four of five times this season. Central Oklahoma continued to pile up runs and hits in the Lone Star Conference Post-Season Tournament on Sunday as the fifth-seeded Bronchos knocked off Cameron, 12-6, to remain unbeaten in the tournament.
Cameron jumped on top 4-1 through three innings, but then the Broncho bats came to life as UCO scored four runs in the fourth and three in the fifth to grab an 8-4 advantage. The Bronchos had eight hits in those two innings, including a two-run single by Miguel Moctezuma in the fourth inning that gave his team a 5-4 lead.
Michael Pollock, Ryan Schoonover and Brian Covington each had RBIs in the three-run fifth as the Bronchos took a lead they would not relinquish. Dean McIntyre went 8.2 innings to pick up the win, improving to 4-4 on the season. He scattered 10 hits and two walks over the 8.2 innings and struck out seven Aggies en route to the victory.
After falling to 1-1 in the tournament, Cameron advanced to face the Javelinas of Texas A&M-Kingsville in an elimination game this morning. CU and TAMUK split their four-game series this season. Texas A&M-Kingsville broke an eight-inning scoreless streak with three runs in the top of the 12th inning today as the Javelinas survived a morning elimination game with a 7-4 win over Cameron in the Lone Star Conference Post-Season Tournament at Crutcher Scott Field.
Cameron had a shot at winning the game in the bottom of the 11th inning when Jorey Price slapped a one-out single into right field. Needing an extra-base hit to get the winning run to the plate, Josh Barnett lined a shot to the right side that appeared headed into the right-field corner for the game-winning hit. However, Kingsville first baseman Owen Weaver used all of his 6-3 frame to stretch out and snare the line drive and step on the bag to double off Price and put an end to the inning.
The Javelinas then got the game-winning run when Wiley Crowson led off the top of the 12th with a single to centerfield. After a sacrifice bunt by James Brown, Lee Venegas replaced Crowson on the basepaths. Erik Gomez was then hit by a pitch in front of a single to left by Taylor Everett. Venegas scored in front of a throw from left field by Price and Gomez went to third. Cameron catcher Kyle Nyhart threw down to second to try and get Everett, and that allowed Gomez to scamper home to make it 6-4.
After Everett was thrown out at the plate on a single by Joe Hamon, Weaver drove in the final run of the inning with a bloop single to right to make it 7-4. Tim Jones took over on the mound in the bottom of the 12th and retired the Aggies without any damage. Mario Gonzales picked up the win to improve to 6-2 on the season.
Texas A&M-Kingsville went on to beat Abilene Christian University in the LSC Championship game to win their first conference title since 2004.
When All-Tournament honors were handed out following the championship game, two Aggies were named to the team. Senior outfielder Jorey Price was named one of the three outfielders on the All-Tournament team, while sophomore third-baseman Blake Watson was named the third-baseman on the All-Tournament team.
As mentioned previously the Cameron baseball team will say goodbye to ten very influential senior players, while the rest of the team will enter the offseason training portion of their schedule.
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