LAWTON – The Cameron baseball team got in a slugfest with UT Tyler on Sunday and a late-inning rally by the Patriots gave them the 20-14 win to secure the series sweep at McCord Field.
On a breezy day in southwest Oklahoma, the Aggies and Patriots combined for 34 runs and 33 hits in a game that saw multiple ties and lead changes. After losing the first three games of the home set, CU was trying to fend of a series sweep against Tyler but the road team scored 12 straight in the final two innings to secure the win.
With
Clayton McClenan on the mound for
Kyle Williams' squad, UT Tyler struck for two runs in the second and one in the third to take an early lead. Cameron's first response of the game was a RBI single by
Julian Macias and a 3-run homer by freshman catcher
Dominic Arellano to give his team a 4-3 lead.
UT Tyler responded with a 3-run fourth frame that put them up 6-4, but the Aggies got a 2-run single from
Zac DeLong in the bottom of the inning to tie the game at six.
Cameron put up another 4-run frame in the sixth, getting RBI singles from
Beau Williams and DeLong that put the Black and Gold up 10-6.
After the Patriots got two of those back in the top of the seventh,
Ryan Allen responded with a solo homer, his fourth of the season to put Cameron back on top by three.
McClenan and reliever
Tyler Gregg did a good job at stranding UTT runners on base all game, but a bases loaded situation with two outs in the eighth started the 12-run rally by the Patriots. They ended up scoring six with two outs in the eighth and then six more in the ninth, four coming on a Kyle McShaffry grand slam off
Jayce Clem.
The Aggies tried to mount a two out, ninth inning comeback of their own. After
Kalen Haynes reached on an error, Williams singled to put two on for Clem. Clem reached on a fielder's choice that saw the throw to second for the third out go wide, allowing Haynes to score. A passed ball and wild pitch brought Williams home and then a Macias single scored Clem. That was as close as CU would get as AJ Irvin got
Jordan Harrison-Dudley to fly out for the final out of the 20-14 contest.
The Lawton MacArthur product DeLong was a perfect 3-3 with three RBI and a run scored while Williams also had three hits and scored three times. Macias and Harrison-Dudley both scored twice and had a pair of hits with Macias driving in two and Arellano collecting three RBI on his first collegiate homer.
Cameron is now 8-15 on the year and 8-14 in league play with their second 4-game series loss of the season. They visit UAFS and former Aggie player and coach Todd Holland next weekend in Fort Smith, Ark., March 25-27.
