OKLAHOMA CITY – Despite hitting four home runs and scoring seven runs in the first four innings, the Aggies were unable to hold off being swept by Oklahoma Christian, losing in the series finale 12-9.
Cameron entered the series with the Eagles needing a series win to change the tone of the season. During Friday's doubleheader, CU was able to hit four home runs and scores 16 runs but were unable to contain the hot-hitting bats from OC falling 14-10 and 7-6.
The Aggies turned to strikeout-artist
Marcos Feria to start Saturday's finale on the mound and the junior provided another quality performance for head coach
Kyle Williams, giving up just one run and one hit while striking out seven in the first four innings of the contest.
Feria got run-support early as
Beau Williams homered in the first inning and then
Jayce Clem answered a OC homer in the second with one of his own in the third to give his team a 2-1 advantage; the homer was Clem's fourth of the series.
Cameron's big inning came in the fourth as they scored five runs with two outs already away in the frame. The first two came on a
Julian Macias home run, which was followed by a three-run bomb later in the inning by
Erik Ohman.
Feria ran into trouble in the fifth, giving up a back-to-back home runs by Blake Empkey and Michael DiFiore to cut the CU lead to three, 7-4. Cameron was able to get out of the inning with just the three runs scoring as Feria got a line out double play with the help of Macias to end the frame.
Clem continued to add to his big weekend in the sixth with a two-out RBI double to score
Erik Ohman, putting CU back up by four runs.
After a walk and a strikeout to start the sixth, Feria was pulled for
Joseph Flood, who did his job, but another OC run scored on a fielding error to 8-5.
Jordan Harrison-Dudley, who had had four hits in the opener of the series, crushed a ball over the left field wall to leadoff the seventh and give his team a 9-5 advantage.
The Aggies could only contain the OC offense for so long as the Eagles struck for seven runs in the bottom of the seventh, three on a Clay Hinkle homer, his second of the game, to take a lead 12-9. Cameron was unable to make a comeback as Noah Bates closed it out in the ninth to complete the series sweep.
Like the previous two games of the series, Cameron out-hit the Eagles, recording 12 hits and stranding eight runners on base. Clem led the offense with three hits and two RBI, while Ohman had a pair of hits, two runs scored, and three RBI and Macias also had two hits and a pair of runs driven in. The Aggies struck out 13 times in the loss.
Feria finished with four earned runs on four hits and four walks with nine strikeouts for his line but did not factor in the decision. The loss went to
Kalen Haynes, who have up three runs on a hit and two walks and failed to record an out.
Tyler Gregg pitched the final 1.2 innings and recorded a strikeout and did not give up a hit.
The Aggies are now 4-18 on the year and 4-14 in league play after losing their fourth straight game. They look to get back on track when they return home next weekend, April 9-10, for a three-game series against St. Mary's.
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