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Aggie softball ends season in playoffs
DURANT, Oklahoma (May 2) – After shattering school and conference records all year, the Cameron Aggie softball team (35-30, 12-12 LSC North) ended their 2008 season this afternoon in the Lone Star Conference Championship tournament. Cameron went 1-2 in the event and will now enter the offseason training portion of their schedule. The tournament was played at the Durant All-Sports Complex in Durant, Oklahoma.
“I thought we played pretty well in the tournament, we were just glad to be there again,” Head Coach Richie Nye said. “It was a great season but unfortunately it ended today. We will be back next year though; you can count on it.”
Cameron’s appearance in the tournament was just the third in Cameron University history. It was also the second consecutive season in which the Aggies clinched a berth in the LSC tournament in Coach Nye’s two seasons at the helm.
This season CU also achieved the first softball ranking of any kind in school history with a #10 regional ranking three weeks ago. The Aggies jumped up to #9 in the region before dropping out of the rankings this week.
The Aggies opened up the LSC tournament against a very tough Angelo State Rambelle squad. ASU is ranked nationally and was #3 in the nation up until Thursday when they dropped to #11. The teams matched up earlier in the season with ASU coming from behind to win the game.
On Thursday versus ASU, CU was held scoreless until the sixth inning and lost it 9-3. The Aggies scored 3 runs on 9 hits but committed a pair of errors. The Rambelles scored 9 runs on only 7 hits and did not commit an error.
“We had them on the ropes earlier in the season, and we felt confident we could beat them this time around,” Coach Nye said. “They played very well and we didn’t hit the ball as well as we needed to.”
Sophomore pitcher Ashton McBride, who was the only pitcher used by Coach Nye in the entire tournament, was saddled with the loss after pitching the complete game. McBride finished the season with an overall record of 23-19 and a team-low earned run average of 3.96.
“I asked a lot of Ashton in this tournament and I think she responded pretty well,” Coach Nye said. “It is tough to be the primary pitcher on a playoff-caliber team. Overall I think we played alright, but we were capable of playing better.”
The loss to Angelo State put Cameron in the elimination bracket of the double-elimination tournament. The rival Bronchos of Central Oklahoma lost their opening round game to Abilene Christian pitting them against the Aggies in the second game on Thursday night. Cameron won just one of their four games with Central Oklahoma this season.
After failing to score until late in the game against ASU, CU came out firing in the very first inning against UCO. The Aggies built a 4-0 lead, but the Bronchos fought back and made it interesting at 5-4. CU then scored 5 unanswered runs to win it 10-4, eliminating UCO from the tournament.
The Aggies scored 10 runs on 11 hits and were flawless in the field with no errors. The Bronchos meanwhile scored 4 runs on 6 hits and committed 3 errors. McBride recorded the victory in the game. Junior shortstop Megan Young hit her second homerun of the evening in the contest, and finished the tournament with a team-high 6 RBI.
“Megan hit the ball very well against UCO. We showed how well we can hit and how good our offense truly is,” Coach Nye said. “To score ten runs against a good team like UCO, especially in the postseason, is very difficult. We have a very potent offense.”
CU’s victory advanced them to the next round of the elimination bracket where they faced off with a very tough Midwestern State Mustang squad. CU and MSU split their four-game season series this year with CU winning one of their two games in a run-rule.
The two teams matched up on Friday morning on the facility’s championship field with the loser going home and the winner advancing to play the winner of the Tarleton State-Abilene Christian match-up. The Mustangs sent sophomore pitcher Katie Petersen (25-7) out to the mound in the game to face off against McBride who started her third game in two days.
Earlier in the season Petersen won both of her starts against Cameron, including a one-hit shutout in Wichita Falls, Texas. Petersen duplicated the performance today with another one-hit, shutout en route to a 4-0 victory that ended CU’s season.
Cameron’s lone hit was a bunt single in the first at-bat of the game by senior centerfielder Sammi Adams. The Aggies scored no runs on 1 hit and committed 1 error, while the Mustangs scored 4 runs on 9 hits and did not commit an error.
“I really thought we were going to get to their pitcher today,” Coach Nye said. “She just has our number and has had it all season. We needed to get on the board early to have a chance, and we couldn’t do it.”
As mentioned earlier, Friday’s loss effectively ends Cameron’s 2008 season. The team will now enter the offseason training portion of their schedule while Coach Nye will hit the recruiting trail. The Aggies will say goodbye to three seniors this year: left-fielder Whitney Richardson, third-baseman Melissa Bour, and centerfielder Sammi Adams.
This season the Aggies set a new conference homerun record with 87 longballs, eclipsing the record of 67 they set last season. Junior outfielder Shareena Pulse tied the single-season homerun record with 19 dingers, tying a record that was set in 1998.
“On the whole I thought this was a very good season,” Coach Nye said. “We met or exceeded a lot of the goals we set for ourselves at the beginning of the year, and broke a lot of records in the process. We went very far on a limited pitching staff, and had one of the best offenses in the country. I’m already ready for next season.”
Aggie fans can stay tuned to the Cameron Athletics website (goaggies.cameron.edu) this offseason for the latest recruiting and scheduling news in preparation for the 2009 season.
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