Aggies end season with loss to third-ranked UCO

     EDMOND, Okla. (April 27) - Sophomore Rick Justice belted his 16th homer of the season, but the rest of the Cameron lineup stumbled on Sunday. Central Oklahoma pitcher Chase Smith tossed a one-hitter, leading the third-ranked Bronchos to a 16-2 win over Coach Ron Ihler's Aggies.
     The loss finished the season for Cameron at 22-24, including 5-18 in Lone Star Conference North Division play. UCO, which is scheduled to host this week's LSC postseason tournament after earning the top seed in the North Division, improved to 42-9 and 21-4.
     Justice provided the only offense for the Aggies in the fourth inning. With Cameron trailing 7-0, Justin Nelson reached base on a fielding error by UCO. Justice then drove one out to left center, making it a 7-2 game. Smith recovered to retire the next 10 Aggie batters and allowed just three base runners the entire game to record the complete-game victory. Smith struck out nine and walked just one to improve to 5-3.
     Central Oklahoma wasted little time taking the early advantage. UCO chased Cameron starter Jason Huffaker in the first inning, scoring five runs on just two hits. The Bronchos cashed in on four walks, a hit batter and a wild pitch to claim the early lead.
     UCO added two runs in the second on a pair of hits, a passed ball and a wild pitch before Justice's homer in the fourth ended the Aggie drought.
     But the Bronchos weren't finished. UCO erupted for eight runs on seven hits in the fifth, highlighted by a bases-clearing double by Barrett Whitney and a two-run home run by Dustin Romines. The Bronchos finished the game with 16 runs on 15 hits.
     Justice finished the season one home run shy of Tyler Williams' school record of 17, set in 1992. The Cameron pitching staff finished the year with a new school record-low of 132 walks allowed, shattering the previous record of 157, set by the 1994 squad.
     Despite finishing the season with nine losses in its last 10 games, Cameron posted its best overall record since finishing the 1995 campaign with a 23-27 mark. The Aggies' last winning season was in 1992, when the squad posted a 31-20 mark en route to the Lone Star Conference championship that season.