Aggies split traditional home opener with PSU
LAWTON, Oklahoma (February 6) – Aggie Baseball was finally able to begin their season today, just four days after their home opener was postponed due to wet field conditions. The Gorillas of Pittsburg State University (1-1) made their traditional journey to Lawton to battle the Aggies (1-1) in the 2007 opening game. While Cameron looked strong in both games, they were only able to walk away with a single victory.
The Aggies won the first game of the double-header but couldn’t put the Gorillas away in the second game. The final scores were 4-2 in favor of the Aggies in the early contest, and 7-6 in favor of Pittsburg State in the later. The two squads split their opening series last year, with PSU sweeping the double-dip the year before.
“It is always good to get the first win under our belts,” Head Coach Todd Holland said. “A game likes this helps us to see what’s going on and what we need to get better at.”
The first game looked as if it would be the ultimate pitcher’s duel, with Cameron senior pitcher Art Gonzalez mowing through Gorilla batters. Pittsburg State was finally able to get on the board however, and the Aggies found themselves down 1-0 going into the bottom of the fourth inning.
Three straight Cameron batters got on base without recording an out, setting up a prime scoring opportunity for junior first baseman Josh Mathiesen. After a couple pitches, Mathiesen found the one he liked and sent it screaming over the centerfield wall for a grand-slam. Mathiesen’s homerun gave the Aggies a 4-1 lead, and eventually the game.
“Mathiesen won the game for us,” Coach Holland said of the first game. “We took care of business and then shut the door on them real quick.”
Mathiesen unbelievably had another opportunity to clear the bases with a single swing later in the game, but popped out to left-field to end the sixth inning with three runners left on base. He finished the game going 2 for 3. Gonzales (1-0) received the victory after facing 14 Gorilla batters and only allowing 3 hits and 1 earned run.
In the second game Cameron came out hot offensively, putting up at least one run in four of the first five innings. At the end of the fifth frame, the Aggies were up 6-4 and were looking for their first opening day sweep of Pittsburg State in the last three years. Unfortunately for Cameron, the Gorillas came out rejuvenated late in the game, scoring three runs in the final two innings compared to the Aggies’ zero.
“We couldn’t put them away in the second game,” Coach Holland said. “We had a lot of opportunities to score but never put the nail in the coffin; they (PSU) just kept hanging in there. We gave ourselves a chance to win both games, which is good and means you are competing, but we still have a long ways to go.”
Senior pitcher Ryan Bengert was saddled with the loss after giving up the final run in the seventh inning. He faced just 3 batters and gave up 1 run on 1 hit. Senior pitcher Ryan Totte started the game for the Aggies and faced 17 batters giving up 4 runs on 5 hits.
Senior outfielder Mark Armstrong had the best game offensively for the Aggies in the second game, going 2-3 with 2 runs. Armstrong finished the day going 2-5 with 2 runs and a strikeout.
“We didn’t play as well as we could today,” Coach Holland said. “We played decent and are getting the feel for our game.”
The Aggies travel to Claremore, Oklahoma this weekend to battle Rogers State University on Friday at 1:00pm and Saturday at 1:00pm. Cameron returns home on Friday, February 23 to take on Tarleton State at 1:00pm.
