Aggies earn share of LSC North crown
UPDATED STATISTICS»
LAWTON, Okla. (April 30) - B.J. Cole's three-run home run in the bottom of the fifth lifted the Cameron baseball team to a 5-4 win over Central Oklahoma in the second game of Sunday's doubleheader at McCord Field. The blast, Cole's second homer of the game, also gave the Aggies a share of the Lone Star Conference North Division regular season title and secured Cameron's first-ever trip to the LSC postseason championships.
Cameron (33-20, 18-6 LSC North) will advance as the second seed from the North Division to the conference tournament. UCO, which also finished 18-6 in conference play, won the tie-breaker by winning three of four games against the Aggies this season. Action in the six-team LSC tournament begins Saturday in Abilene, Texas.
After posting a convincing 15-4 win in Sunday's opener, UCO stumbled in Game 2. The Bronchos pounded out 16 hits - including four homers - in the first contest, but managed just five hits in the nightcap. Art Gonzales (8-4) struck out six and scattered the five hits to earn the mound win for the Aggies. Ryan Totte came on to start the sixth and pitched two hitless innings to earn his second save of the year.
UCO scored first in the second game, taking a 1-0 lead on an RBI single by Bryan Belford in the second.
Cameron answered with two runs in the bottom of the third on Cole's first home run of the game. After Waylon Pettet singled up the middle with one out, Cole stepped to the plate and drilled a two-out offering from UCO's Nathan Nance over the left-center wall to put the Aggies up 2-1.
The back-and-forth scoring continued in the fifth. After Bryce Columbus drew a leadoff hit-by-pitch and Derec Norman dropped a picture-perfect bunt down the first base line, Brandon Bacon ripped a mammoth homer to left center to put the Bronchos back on top. It was the second homer of the day for Bacon, who also left the yard with a two-run shot in the first inning of Game 1.
But Cole got another chance to put the Aggies ahead in the bottom half of the fifth and delivered. After Trey Chambers led off the inning with a single down the right field line and Waylon Pettet reached base on a dropped fly ball, UCO went to the bullpen. Blake Hughes converted a sacrifice bunt attempt off reliever Dirk Yeaman before Cole put the Aggies ahead for good with the three-run shot to left center.
With a slim 5-4 lead, Cameron turned to Totte, who retired all six batters he faced to wrap up the win.
Cole and John Herbert each had two hits in the game for the Aggies, with Cole accounting for all five Cameron RBI. Bacon led the Bronchos, going 2-for-3 with three runs batted in.
UCO clinched the top seed in the North Division and at least a share of the regular season divisional title with the lopsided win earlier in the day. The Bronchos got a pair of homers from Tim Sullivan and recorded four stolen bases in the game. Five UCO players had multiple hits, including three each from Dustin Dailey and Matt Yost.
Cameron got a 3-for-3 effort at the plate from senior Trey Chambers, but stranded 10 runners on base and didn't score after the fourth inning.
