LAWTON – The Cameron University baseball team took to the diamond today to face off against Lone Star Conference opponent Tarleton State. The Texans came out on top, clinching the 23-8 victory. Both TSU and the Aggies are vying for a spot in the LSC tournament, which begins next weekend.
Things immediately got off to a bad start for the Black and Gold, as the very first pitch of the game was crushed over the fence between left and centerfield. That would mark the first of seven homeruns the Texans would collect during the course of the contest. Two more would come in the first inning alone, an inning in which TSU picked up four runs.
The CU men responded in the bottom of the first by tacking on a run of their own. Nick Smith, who went 4-4 on the day, kicked off the second half of the inning by singling through the left side. He then worked his way around the bases with the help of Josh Dawson and Taylor Lyons and eventually crossed home plate on an error by TSU’s third baseman.
The Texans would go on to add runs in every inning. The fifth inning proved to be the most productive for the Texas team as they added eight runs on eight hits and two Aggie errors. The Black and Gold would not claim any more runs until the sixth. First baseman Andy Garcia earned his way on base by singling to left field. Kevin Waukau then stepped up to the plate to knock a homerun over the leftfield fence.
Trailing 23-3, CU began to mount a comeback in the bottom of the seventh. Garcia earned the first RBI of the inning by singling up the middle and scoring Smith, who also singled up the middle. With the bases loaded, Waukau hammered his second homerun of the game and first grand slam of the season over the left field fence. However, the Aggies failed to maintain their momentum and eventually succumbed to the Texans 23-8.
Baseball coach Todd Holland admitted today’s loss was tough and acknowledged that it will be critical to win tomorrow.
“We have to go out a take care of business of tomorrow. We have three games left and we know what we have to do. We are going to go out with our best tomorrow and try to beat them,” Holland said. “I just hope our guys respond the way they need to.”
The first pitch of tomorrow’s doubleheader against TSU is set for 1 p.m. at McCord Field. Holland has designated tomorrow’s contest as Military Appreciation Day and Major General David Halverson will be throwing out the opening pitch. A cook-out hosted by the Athletic Department and the Cameron University Alumni Association will begin at noon, kicking off the day’s festivities.
