LAWTON – The Aggies used late-inning heroics to win 6-5 in game one of their doubleheader against No. 23 St. Mary's on Friday before dropping game two to split the twin-bill.
Cameron has played at least one top-25 ranked opponent during each of their first three weekends of Lone Star Conference action and this week it was the 23rd ranked Rattlers who visited McMahon Field for two games.
St. Mary's led 4-0 before CU got on the board. The home team got a solo homer from
Khmari Edwards in the bottom of the fifth after StMU stroke for two runs in the top of the frame.
The Rattlers made a pitching change to start the bottom of the sixth and that was when the Aggie bats came alive. Singled by
Josie Swafford and
Maci McMurtrey sandwiched a
Kaiden Boren walk to load the bases.
Head coach
Kayla Adams went to pinch-hitter
Haley Castle and the decision paid off as Castle crushed her fifth homer of the season, a grand slam, to tie the game at five.
Mikayla Richmond reached on an infield single and then when she stole second, the throw down bounced off her leg and went into the outfield, allowing her to score and give CU a 6-5 advantage.
Breley Webb got a pair of pop ups and a flyball out in the seventh to earn Cameron's fourth LSC win of the season. Webb struck out six and gave up just three earned runs of the five scored in her fifth win of the year.
Edwards, Swafford, and
Karis Clark each had two hits as CU finished with nine hits as a team, stranding six runners on base. Clark also reached twice via walks.
Unlike game one, Cameron could not come up with the clutch hit in game two against the Rattlers.
Errors proved costly early as four of the first five St. Mary's runs scored were unearned. The Rattlers then put up a 4-run frame in the seventh to give starter Catarina Cavasos a 9-run cushion.
The Aggies got two runners on to lead off the bottom of the seventh, with McMurtrey, who doubled, scoring on a double steal with two outs in the frame. St. Mary's got three groundouts in the frame to secure the series split.
Despite giving up eight hits, Cavasos did a good job of keeping CU off the scoreboard, stranding six Aggie runners on base and allowing just the one run to improve her to 12-0 on the spring.
For the Aggies,
Jocelyn Bright gave up five runs, just one earned, on two hits and four walks. Swafford struck out five batters and gave up four runs on six hits during her 4.1 innings of work.
Clark was perfect at the plate on Friday, going 3-3 in game two of the doubleheader while McMurtrey provided two more of the Aggie hits.
Cameron is now 16-12 overall this season and 4-6 in league play. They will host St. Edward's on Saturday for another LSC twin-bill with game one scheduled to start at 4 p.m. The games against the Hilltoppers were originally scheduled for Sunday but were moved a day by mutual agreement.
