Cameron Athletics
Kenton Means, Sports Information Director
OKLAHOMA CITY – Cameron softball’s senior catcher Callie Busby returned to the lineup in a big way on Saturday, crushing two home runs in the Aggies’ 15-3 win over East Central; Bethany Hines ties the program record for wins with her 56th career victory.
On Friday, for the first time in four years, the CU lineup did not have two Busbys penciled in to start. Aggie catcher C. Busby missed the twin-bill to start the weekend due to illness, but she returned with a bang on Saturday, going 3-4 with four RBI coming via a pair of two-run homers. She was part of an Aggie offense that erupted for 15 runs on 17 hits in the win over the Tigers late Saturday night.
Not to be out-done by her fellow senior and Washington HS alumni, CU’s senior hurler Hines made history against ECU, recording her 56th career win, which ties the Aggie softball program high. Hines went 5.0 innings to earn her first win of the year, striking out four batters and giving up just the three runs.
Cameron put the pressure on the Tigers early. Brenna Busby led off the game with a walk and then after stealing second, came in to score on a single to shallow right field by Breley Webb. Back-to-back hits by Callie Busby and Mikayla Oaks loaded the bases with only one out, but a double play allowed ECU to scape the inning with CU leading by just one.
The Tigers quickly answered, getting a run in the bottom of the first to tie the game at one run a piece.
After two scoreless innings, the Aggies struck again, this time for two runs in the fourth. Freshman Maci McMurtrey set the table for CU’s rally with a leadoff walk. A single by Kaylyn Smith and a double steal put runners on second and third with no outs in the frame. After B. Busby flew out, Khmari Edwards picked up the slack with an infield single that brought home McMurtrey from third. Two batters later, CU loaded the bases again and this time, Oaks capitalized with a two-out RBI free pass to give her team a 3-1 advantage.
East Central would not go quietly as they came back with two more runs in the bottom of the fourth, the first on a solo homer to leadoff the frame. Hines gave up a triple in the next at-bat but looked like she was going to escape with just the run scoring after getting two quick outs. The resilient Tigers had other ideas as a single up the middle brought the run home from third to knot the game at three.
Cameron’s first big inning came in the sixth as back-to-back hits by Edwards and Webb added another run to the scoreboard to leadoff the frame. C. Busby then added two more to the lead as she crushed her first homer of the season, giving CU a 6-3 advantage.
The Aggies one-upped themselves in the top of the seventh, scoring nine runs on seven hits to stretch their lead out to 15-3. C. Busby hit her second two-run homer in the frame and Kylie French matched her with one of her own, her second of the season. Later in the frame, B. Busby and Edwards brought home four more runs on back-to-back two-out, two-RBI hits.
Turner Whorton locked down the win with a near perfect two innings of work, striking out three and allowing just one base runner via a walk for her first save of the season.
Edwards matched C. Busby with four RBI while going 4-6 at the plate. Oaks reached base all five times she came to bat, going 2-2 with three walks. Smith also had a big game, reaching base five times and scoring a team-high three runs.
The Aggies are now 2-1 this weekend and 3-5 on the season. They will wrap up the Edmond Festival at Broncho Field on Sunday when they face Missouri Southern at 10 a.m. and then Pittsburg State at 2 p.m.