Aggies bounce back, take 1 of 4
LAWTON, Oklahoma (March 24) – Hoping to rebound from being swept on Friday, the Aggies (13-16) hosted the Angelo State Rams (22-9) in the second double-header between the teams on Saturday. Cameron was severely outscored in the first double-header, losing game one 13-4 and game two 11-9 on Friday. The Aggies lost the opening game on Saturday 14-5, but rebounded to take the second game 8-4.
The defending Lone Star Conference North Division Champions have won just two of their last eight, but Head Coach Todd Holland remains positive.
“I’m pleased with the way we played in the second game, especially after losing three in a row (to ASU),” Coach Holland said. “To come back and win by a decisive margin tells a lot about the character of this team.”
The series saw an unprecedented amount of homeruns, with ten going to ASU and six going to Cameron. Four of the Rams’ homers came to consecutive batters in the sixth inning of the very first game, and four of CU’s bombs came courtesy of senior thirdbaseman B. J. Cole. ASU’s six home runs in the first game set a new school record.
Cameron opened the first game of Saturday’s double-header falling behind 9-2 after the first two innings. Aggie starter J. W. Koweno (junior) lasted just 1.1 innings and gave up 9 runs on 7 hits with one walk.
No Aggie finished the game with more than one hit.
Cole led the team with 2 RBI thanks to his two-run homerun in the third inning. He finished the series 7-12 with 4 homeruns and 7 RBI. He also recorded a pair of walks and a strikeout.
The ferocious ASU bats proved too much for the Aggies who lost in a similar fashion for a third straight game. Cameron couldn’t seem to get enough baserunners and gave up far too many hits.
Coach Holland looked to reverse this trend in game two of Saturday’s double-header, starting his closer, and arguably best pitcher, against the Rams. Senior Ryan Bengert came out of the bullpen for the start against ASU, and responded tremendously. Bengert went six innings giving up just 4 runs on 6 hits. He also struck out 7 and walked a single Ram batter.
“(Ryan) Bengert pitched great for us,” Coach Holland said. “ASU is the best hitting team in the conference and he shut them down today.”
Cameron opened up the game on a tear taking a 5-0 lead after three innings, and 8-1 after four. A huge 4-run third inning really got things going for the Aggies in game two.
Junior catcher Kyle Walbrick went a perfect 2-2 at the plate with a double, RBI, and a walk.
“It was good to get a solid win over a tough team like ASU to go into conference with,” Coach Holland said. “It’s good to get the ball rolling, but now we need to put it together for the conference schedule. We will be alright; we are just working all the kinks out.”
Cameron begins the conference portion of their schedule next weekend.
The Aggies stay home to host the Tigers of East Central University at McCord Field next Saturday and Sunday, March 31 and April 1, respectively. Saturday will feature a double-header between the two teams beginning at 1:00pm, and Sunday will feature a single nine-inning game beginning at 2:00pm.
Saturday is also CU’s annual installment of the “Pack the Stands” games which will hopefully set a new Aggie Baseball attendance record for the season. Bring your friends and family out to McCord Field next Saturday and help us “Pack the Stands!”
