No. 8 Javelinas take two from Aggies

UPDATED STATISTICS»

LAWTON, Okla. (March 10) - Texas A&M-Kingsville pounded out 29 hits and racked up 24 runs Friday, cruising to a doubleheader sweep over the Cameron baseball team.

The Javelinas, 17-1 overall and ranked eighth in the latest NCAA Division II Top 25 poll, also capitalized on eight Cameron errors - including six in Game 2 - to post wins of 12-4 and 12-9 at Cameron's McCord Field. The Aggies (7-10) will look to forge a series split on Saturday, when the two teams resume action with a doubleheader scheduled to begin at noon.

Cameron starter Kacy Groves held Texas A&M-Kingsville in check through the first four innings of Game 1, allowing just one hit per inning. The Aggies staked Groves to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI single by C.J. Nelson, but the lead proved to be short-lived.

The Javelinas erupted for seven runs on eight hits in the fifth, including two-RBI singles by J.M. Devarie and Clay Bockholt. Coach Russell Stockton's squad then chased Groves with four more runs on five hits in the fifth, using a two-RBI double by Taylor Richards to build an 11-1 advantage.

Cameron scored twice in the sixth on Mark Armstrong's RBI-double and another run-scoring single by Nelson to make it 11-3 before Devarie homered down the left field line in the top of the seventh to put the Javs up by eight.

The Aggies got a sacrifice fly by B.J. Cole to score a run in the seventh but never rattled A&M-Kingsville starter Chris White, who improved to 4-0 on the year with the complete-game victory. White scattered nine hits and allowed just three earned runs while striking out five.

Nelson led the Aggies at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI.

Cameron again grabbed a brief lead in the nightcap. After the Javelinas picked up an unearned run in the top of the first, the Aggies answered with an RBI-triple by Greg Patton and a two-run homer by Cole in the bottom half of the inning to go up 3-1.

But A&M-Kingsville put together another seven-run inning in the second, including a three-run blast over the right field wall by Andrew Sweet to make it 8-3.

That score held until the sixth, when the Javelinas added three more runs. The Aggies committed two errors in the frame and Sweet belted another homer, this time a two-run shot, pushing the lead to 11-3.

Cameron threatened to rally in the bottom half of the inning, however. The Aggies recorded just two hits in the frame, but one was a bases-clearing double by Cole. Cameron sent 10 men to the plate in the inning and scored five runs, thanks to two hit batters and a pair of walks.

A&M-Kingsville answered with an insurance run in the seventh on an RBI single by Matt Emerson and the Aggies managed just one run in the bottom half of the inning on Matt Machinski's RBI-triple.

Art Gonzales (2-3) took the loss on the mound for the Aggies, allowing seven earned runs over five innings. Josh Livingston kept his mound record perfect a 4-0 for the Javelinas, despite allowing seven earned runs over five-and-a-third innings. Zach Gordon finished the game for A&M-Kingsville and earned his third save of the year.

Cole finished the day 2-for-6 at the plate with six RBI, including a home run and a sacrifice fly for the Aggies. Emerson and Sweet each went 5-for-9 for the Javelinas.