CANYON, Texas (March 18, 2012) — Cameron went neck and neck with West Texas today, taking a tie ballgame late into the game, but an eighth inning run by the Buffs proved to be the game winner as Cameron fell 7-6.
We had opportunities to win … we just couldn’t pull it out,” said Head Coach Todd Holland. “We had plenty of opportunities, just couldn’t manage to get runs on the board.”
“We’ve got to learn to find a way to win to close games. It’s something they’ve got to do as a team; learn to win.”
James Rhodes started for CU (11-14, 0-4) and in Holland’s opinion, “pitched his best game of the season.” But despite his best efforts, even pitching a complete game, Rhodes took the loss to fall to 2-3 on the season.
The Buffs (15-4, 4-0) got to the Aggies first, scoring in the bottom of the third, but Cameron responded in the fourth inning with two runs to take a 2-1 lead. Kevin Waukau and Brad Blumer each picked up RBIs in the inning.
After WT retook the lead at 3-2 in the bottom of the fifth, the Aggies again responded, scoring three runs in the top of the sixth. CU started the inning with back-to-back singles by Andy Garcia and Waukau. A Tyler Cox sacrifice bunt advanced the runners, both of whom would score on consecutive hits by Blummer and Thomas Galvin. Blumer would come around to score on a single by Taylor Lyons to cap of the scoring. Cameron ended the inning leading 5-3.
West Texas scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game at five. Each teams scored in the seventh to set up a photo finish. While the Aggies had opportunities, stranding two runners in the seventh and one in the ninth, it was the Buffs who scored first in the eighth inning to claim the victory.
Despite the losses, Holland said his team played “alright,” but also got put up against a solid team for its opening conference series.
“In years past, they play unbelievable ball early,” he said. “We went 1-2 last year against WT and the year before 1-3. Cameron going to West Texas hasn’t been a good thing in the past. One weekend doesn’t decide the whole year for you. We’ve just got to come out and play.”
CU will return home next week to host a weekend series against Eastern New Mexico. The first game of the series will take place at 3 p.m. Friday at McCord Field. The teams will play two on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. and conclude the series with a 1 p.m. game on Sunday.
For more information on the baseball team, visit www.cameronaggies.com.
