Softball drops two to USAO
UPDATED STATISTICS >>
LAWTON, Okla. (Feb. 19) -- Missed opportunities at the plate cost the Cameron softball team on Thursday. The Aggies stranded 13 runners on base, losing a double-header to the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma by scores of 7-0 and 2-1. The wins improved USAO to 7-0 on the season, while Cameron fell to 2-2.
Coach Gladys Crawford's squad will look to rebound on Feb. 27, when the Aggies return to action to host the University of Southern Arkansas.
USAO pitchers held Cameron in check much of the afternoon. Game 1 starter Jamie Pendley carried a perfect game into the fifth inning of Thursday's opening contest, before allowing a pair of Cameron hits in the frame. The Aggies tagged Pendley for two more hits in the game, including a sixth-inning double by freshman Kelsey Wheeler, but all four Aggie base runners were left stranded.
The Drovers, meanwhile, racked up 11 hits in Game 1, including a leadoff homer by Stephanie Hey in the sixth, while coasting to the easy win.
Game 2 was much more competitive, but again missed opportunities hampered the Aggies. Cameron left the bases loaded in the second and seventh innings and finished the game with nine runners left aboard.
Cameron pitcher Lindsay Williams scattered six hits in the nightcap, allowing just two runs. But that was all USAO would need.
Cameron's only run of the day came in the final inning. Back-to-back singles by Williams and Megan Schneberger to open start the bottom of the seventh were followed by a USAO error that loaded the bases with no outs. Wheeler then singled in a run to pull Cameron to within 2-1, but USAO pitcher Dana Askins, a transfer from the University of Oklahoma, forced Cameron's Evelyn Burton to ground into a fielder's choice that cut down the would-be tying run at the plate. Askins retired the next two batters to end the game.
Wheeler led the Aggies at the plate, going 3-for-6 on the afternoon with two doubles and a stolen base. Michelle Wanner collected two hits in the opening contest, while Megan Schneberger had two knocks in Game 2.
