April 8, 2008
Aggies sweep ‘Dogs, Young hits 8 RBI
WEATHERFORD, Oklahoma (April 8) – With mere weeks left in the 2008 regular season, the Cameron Aggie softball team (29-23, 7-7 LSC North) today extended their current win streak to three games. The team traveled to Weatherford, Oklahoma, and swept the Southwestern Oklahoma State Bulldogs (14-22, 3-11 LSC North) in the first half of this week’s series. This afternoon Cameron won the first game 8-2, and kept rolling to win the second game 5-2. The teams match up at Cameron Field this weekend at 1:00pm in the second half of the series.
“We placed decent today. We played good defense, pitched pretty well, and had quite a few timely hits,” Head Coach Richie Nye said. “If we could do the same thing this weekend it would be great. It’s tough to go on the road in this conference and win, which makes today’s wins especially big.”
Cameron got on the board early in the opener and nearly led for the entire game. The teams were briefly tied at 1-1, but the Aggies were in control after their at-bats in the third. The Bulldogs tried to get back into it with a run in the bottom of the fifth to make it 4-2, but the Aggies shut the door on a comeback attempt with a four-spot in the sixth inning.
CU out-hit SWOSU 13-4, and also did not commit an error. SWOSU however committed 1 error. Sophomore pitcher Ashton McBride recorded the complete game victory to move to 19-14 on the season. McBride faced 28 batters and only allowed 2 runs on 4 hits. She also threw 1 walk and 4 strikeouts. Her season ERA now sits at 4.11.
In today’s nightcap Cameron was actually behind for the first two innings. The Aggies scored a run in the top of the third to tie it at 1-1, and then scored the go-ahead run in the fifth. Both the tying and go-ahead runs were scored by senior outfielder Sammi Adams on RBI singles by junior shortstop Megan Young.
At this point Cameron was up 2-1. The Aggies then scored a trio of insurance runs in the fifth to seal the double-header sweep. This time the Bulldogs out-hit the Aggies, 11-8. Cameron committed 2 errors in the game while Southwestern Oklahoma State committed 1 error.
“We knew that these were big games today,” Coach Nye said. “Now that we are getting closer to the end you put more emphasis on the wins. That puts pressure on your team, so to go on the road and play like we did today was a big step and a big win. Hopefully we can continue this winning streak and go big into this Saturday’s games.”
Junior pitcher Giselle Guzman recorded the victory in today’s nightcap after pitching the final 6.0 innings of the game. She allowed 1 run on 7 hits and faced 25 batters. Guzman also failed to walk a batter, and threw 1 strikeout. Today’s win brings Guzman to 3-4 on the season with a 5.70 ERA.
Young had a huge day at the plate after going 3-4 in the first game with 4 RBI, and 3-3 in the second game with another 4 RBI. She also hit a homerun in the first game and stole a base in the second game. Young hit .875 on the day.
“Megan had a heck of a day,” Coach Nye said. “She fought off a lot of pitches and hit very well. She was just seeing the ball really, really well. She even made a few diving catches for us in the field.”
Senior third-baseman Melissa Bour also had a great day offensively. In the afternoon’s opener, Bour went 3-4 with 3 RBI and a pair of doubles. She added another double and went 1-3 in the second game.
The Aggies and Bulldogs conclude this week’s series on Saturday (April 12) at Cameron Field. A double-header between the teams begins at 1:00pm. After this week there will be just two series and just four home games left in the 2008 schedule.
The Lone Star Conference Championship tournament is scheduled for May 1-3. After today’s wins the Aggies moved into 4th place in the LSC North Division. The top 4 teams in each division make the postseason tournament each year. Before today’s softball action Cameron stood in 5th place.
“We need to keep this going down the stretch,” Coach Nye said. “Anytime you win on the road in conference it’s big, especially so late in the season. Each game is magnified more now because only the top 4 teams make it.”