SAN ANGELO, Texas – The Aggie baseball team just missed out on another top-25 upset on Friday night as missed opportunities led to a 9-8 loss to No. 14 Angelo State to open the series.
A week after splitting a series with then No. 23 Lubbock Christian, Cameron made the trip to San Angelo to try and pull off a few more upsets against the Rams as they try to claw their way towards the final Lone Star Conference postseason spot.
With
Tyler Cornett, who has been strong on the mound for
Kyle Williams' squad as of late, the 14th ranked home team came out swinging, scoring a run in the first and then four in the second capped by a 3-run homer from the big-bat of Aaron Walters.
Cameron answered in the top of the third as
Beau Williams drove a ball to deep center field to score himself and
Julian Macias and make it a 5-2 game.
After ASU got one back on a solo homer in the fourth, the Aggies came right back in the top of the fifth with back-to-back solo home runs from
Erik Ohman and Macias and then a sacrifice fly from
Jayce Clem to score B. Williams and make it a 6-5 contest.
Again, the Rams answered with a single run in the bottom of the fifth, but after a scoreless sixth, the Aggies put up another 3-run from in the top of the seventh. B. Williams kick started the rally with his fourth hit of the night, driving in Ohman, who doubled earlier in the frame.
Tyler Coleman then drew a bases loaded walk and
Ryan Carter brought home
Jordan Harrison-Dudley on a fielder's choice, giving CU an 8-7 lead.
The first of the Aggie miscues came in the bottom of the seventh as ASU's Thomas Cain stole second and then came all the way in to score on an error by the CU catcher with two outs to tie the game.
Another missed opportunity came in the top of the eighth as Ohman and Macias reached with just one out, butting two on for B. Williams, who was looking to go 5-5 at the plate if he could get a hit. Unfortunately, the second baseman grounded into a double play to end the threat.
In the bottom of the 8th, ASU did not squander their run-scoring opportunity as a leadoff triple set them up for a sacrifice fly later in the frame to score the go-ahead run.
Cameron opened the top of the ninth with Harrison-Dudley reached on a walk, but after a Clem single to center, Harrison-Dudley was caught too far off second and was retired for the first out of the frame. ASU then got another double-play ball to end the game, winning 9-8 in the series opener.
The Aggies out-hit the Rams 14-12 led by B. Williams with his 4-5 night. He also had three extra-base hits, three runs scored, and three RBI. Macias did his job at the top of the lineup, going 3-5 with two runs scored and a RBI. Clem, Carter, and Ohman each had two hits for the Aggies.
Cornett went five innings, giving up seven runs on 11 hits and two walks while striking out three ASU batters.
Kalen Haynes went 2.1 frames, giving up two runs, one earned, on one hits and a walk while
Evan Nichols retired the final two batters in the eighth; the du combined for a pair of K's.
With the loss, the Aggies drop to 13-26 in league play and 13-28 overall this spring. It also allowed Texas A&M International, who won on Friday, to jump them in the LSC standings.
CU will look to clean up the miscues they battle the Rams in a doubleheader on Saturday with game one scheduled for a 4 p.m. start at Foster Field.
