OKLAHOMA CITY – The Cameron University softball team got their 2021 season underway with a big win over Southern Nazarene early in the day before falling in a thriller to Central Oklahoma in the nightcap.
 
Against the Crimson Storm on Thursday afternoon, the Aggies got the scoring started in the top half of the first inning when Breley Webb singled into center field and was moved up to second on a Callie Christensen single before a Mikayla Oaks double cleared the bases and gave the Aggies a 2-0 early lead.
 
Webb got the start in the circle for the Aggies and was cruising through three innings, only giving up a tough-luck hit off her foot in the second. In the fourth inning, the Crimson Storm came charging back and worked Webb into a jam; SNU collected two hits and earned two walks. Webb was able to limit the damage, only allowing a run in the fourth frame to preserve a one run CU advantage.
 
In the fifth inning the Aggies saw a Brenna Busby leadoff double spark the offense. Khmari Edwards advanced Busby to third on a ground out and Webb was able to give herself some insurance by plating Busby with a sac-fly into right field, once again extending the Cameron lead to a pair of runs.
 
SNU once again cut the deficit in half with an RBI single off the bat of Caitlyn Curlee which ended Webb's game in the circle and brought on Bethany Hines. The senior pitcher got out of the fifth cleanly which opened the door for CU to respond at the dish once again.
 
Kylie French came around to score on a Mikayla Richmond single into left field making it a 4-2 game heading into the home half of the sixth.
 
Hines slammed the door on the Crimson Storm, tossing a clean seventh inning with the only blemish in the frame being a one-out double. Hines finished with 2.2 innings of work, four strikeouts, and only allowed hit.
 
At the plate, CU saw three Aggies turn in multi-hit games with Christensen, Maci McMurtrey, and Richmond racking up two hits each; CU totaled their four runs across 10 hits in the win.
 
Cameron went into the day planning on playing Ouachita Baptist in their second game of the season, but due to COVID-19 precautions, that matchup was put on the burner and, after some reshuffling, set up a battle with UCO one day early.
 
It only took until game two for the Aggies to play one of the wildest games you will see this season, as CU and UCO played a back-and-forth, 10-inning affair in Edmond, Okla.

The scoring got started in the second inning when Edwards slapped a single to plate McMurtrey before the Bronchos came right back in the bottom half to take a 2-1 lead via a bases clearing double by Mckitrick.
 
After falling behind for the first time this season, CU responded by knotting it up in the top of the third when Madyson Marvulli singled into center field to plate Busby.
 
Edwards kept the offensive production going with another RBI this time a double down the left field line to bring home Busby.
 
After the Bronchos scored a pair of unearned runs, giving them a two-run lead, Webb hit a sharp-single up the middle in the sixth to score Busby, and Kaylyn Smith to tie the game up once again. The game wouldn't stay tied for long as Marvulli plated Oaks and Busby on a hard hit single up the middle.
 
In the seventh, UCO made up that deficit with their backs against the wall sending this game into extra innings.
 
After a clean eighth frame, the Aggies pulled ahead in the ninth when Smith stole third base and then came in to score when they throw down went wild.
 
Down to their last out in the ninth, UCO roped an RBI-double into left field to tie the game. Cameron then went down quietly in the 10th and allowed a leadoff double in the bottom half. UCO bunted the runner to third and plated her with a one out sac-fly, giving them the 9-8 win in an early game of the year candidate.
 
The Black and Gold had 16 hits in the loss, with Edwards and Webb each tallying three knocks and driving in a pair of runs. Marvulli, who also had a team-best three RBI, French, and Oaks all had a pair of hits in the nightcap.

Cameron's opening weekend at the Edmond Festival continues on Friday as they take on Northeastern State at 10 a.m. in Oklahoma City, Okla. in their first game of the day with their second opponent and time still to be determined.