Baseball drops two to East Central

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LAWTON, Okla. (April 8) - Cameron entered Thursday's baseball doubleheader with East Central hoping to leapfrog the Tigers for second place in the Lone Star Conference North Division standings. The Aggies began the day a game behind ECU, but finished three back, losing by scores of 1-0 and 8-2.

Coach Todd Holland's squad will look to get back in the win column this weekend, hosting LSC North rival Southeastern Oklahoma in a three-game set beginning with a single nine-inning contest Friday at 2 p.m.

East Central benefitted from a pair of strong pitching performances on Thursday. Corey Hall improved to 8-1 on the season with a complete-game victory in Game 1. Hall gave up just four hits in the game, striking out three and allowing no runs. Chad Leone (6-2) got the win for the Tigers in the nightcap, scattering five hits over six innings without giving up an earned run.

The Aggies struggled offensively in Game 1. Cameron's only scoring threat came in the fifth, when Mike Espinoza belted a double to right center after Trey Chambers had reached base on an ECU error. But Chambers was gunned down at the plate while trying to score on the play, preserving the shutout for Hall.

Allen Mitchell (5-2) took the loss on the mound for the Aggies, allowing just one earned run in the complete-game effort. Mitchell struck out five and walked two while giving up just seven hits.

East Central jumped out to a strong lead in Game 2, scoring four runs in the third and three more in the fourth off Aggie starter Derek Bennett. Cameron scored in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI double by Chris Balsiger and plated one more in the seventh on a sacrifice fly by Cody Brooks, but it wasn't enough to overcome an 11-hit attack by East Central, which solidified its second-place position in the LSC North Division standings with the the doubleheader sweep.