Cameron Athletics
Kenton Means, Sports Information Director
STEPHENVILLE, Texas – The Cameron baseball team opened up Lone Star Conference play by splitting a doubleheader at Tarleton State, losing the first game 3-2 and then exploding for 20 runs in the game two win.
Game one was completely different from the second. Tarleton State got out to a 2-0 lead with a solo homer in the first inning and a RBI single in the third.
Devin Castro gave up just the two runs on four hits and three walks during his 5.1 innings of work. He also struck out five Texan batters and hit three.
Cameron got their first run of the game in the top of the fifth. Izrael Trevino led off the inning with a single to center field. He then moved to second on a Myles Miller single and then both runners advanced a base on a passed ball. Hayden Jaco walked to load the bases and then another passed ball allowed Trevino to come in score. TSU’s pitcher was able to settle down and strike out the next two hitters to get out of trouble.
In the top of the seventh, the Aggies completed the comeback to tie the game at two runs a piece in the seven-inning contest. Miller singled to open the frame and then moved to second on an infield single from Jaco. Briton Schiewe followed that up with a RBI double to center field to tie the game.
An inning later, Tarleton State got a leadoff double from Jon Law, who advanced to third on a fly out in the next at-bat. A single to left field off the bat of Zach Mesa ended the game 3-2 in favor of the Texans.
Sean Maher recorded two outs with one strikeout in the sixth inning, while Joseph Flood gave up three hits and struck out one while also giving up the winning run during his 1.1 innings of work.
Trevino went 2-3 with a run scored and a walk, while Miller was also 2-3 with a run scored in the league opener.
The second game of the day was all Aggies from the start. Jaylan Prince led off the game with a solo home run. Pierce Khan doubled in the next-at bat and then three batters later, Tyler Wood drove him in on a single to right field. Cameron led 2-0 after one inning.
In the top of the third, Dillon Turney walked and Trevino was hit by a pitch to put two on for CU. After Wood grounded out, Jaco drove in both runners on a single to right field, putting his team up 4-0.
The Aggies first big inning came in the fourth. They scored five runs on four hits, three of which came on a three-run home run from Khan. Jaco drove in the fourth run of the frame on a double to center and then scored on a passed ball for the fifth, giving Cameron a 9-0 lead.
Turney added two more to the Aggies score in the fifth, driving in Prince, who reached on an error, and Khan, who walked, on a two RBI single to right field. CU loaded the bases with two outs later in the inning, but TSU was able to get Miller to ground out to keep the score at 11-0.
Cameron’s second five-run inning of the game came in the top of the sixth. Khan delivered his second three-run homer of the contest to give the Aggies a 14-0 advantage and then two more came around to score on a Miller single to center field.
In the top of the seventh, CU reached the 20-run mark for the first time this season. Three straight singles from Schiewe, Michael Flohr, and Khan loaded the bases with no outs. Brady Huston went to the bench, bringing Jordan Harrison-Dudley in to pinch hit. The sophomore unloaded the bases with his first homer of the season, giving CU the 20-0 lead.
While the Aggie bats were busy crushing the Texan pitching, Gaige Vines was having a career game on the mound. The junior carried a no-hitter into the final frame and gave up just the one run, which scored on a passed ball, on the one hit in the seventh. Vines, now 2-1 on the season, also walked four and struck out six in the run-rule victory.
Khan led the Aggies with a 4-5, five runs scored and six RBI game. Jaco reached base all five times he came to the plate, recording three hits and three RBI. Prince added two hits and scored four times, while Miller and Schiewe also had two hits. Cameron totaled 19 hits, left 12 runners on base, and 18 of their 20 runs came on RBI.
The split moves CU’s record at 10-17 overall and TSU goes to 11-17 on the season. Both teams are not 1-1 in conference play. They will wrap up the four-game series on Saturday with another doubleheader set to begin at 1 p.m. in Stephenville.