CANYON, Texas – The #2 Lady Buffs of West Texas A&M stuggled offensively in the opener but responded in the nightcap as they split Lone Star Conference doubleheader action with the #25 Aggies of Cameron at McMahon Field in Lawton, Oklahoma on Friday afternoon. The Lady Buffs move to 25-6 (11-3 LSC) while the Aggies move to 25-4 (8-2 LSC) on the year.
The Lady Buffs and Aggies return to McMahon Field tomorrow afternoon with the final two games of the Lone Star Conference series set for 12:00 p.m. in Lawton, Oklahoma.
Game #1#25 Cameron 4, #2 West Texas A&M 0
The Lady Buffs threatened in the top of the first inning with three straight walks by
Stacey Ramirez,
Renee Erwin and
Kaisha Dacosin that loaded the bases with one out before Cameron's Kelsey Watson responded with a pair of strikeouts to strand the runner and head to the bottom of the first inning. The Aggies used a double with one out in the second for their first base runner of the game before a line drive to Dacosin at third with a throw to the bag at second ended the inning with the double play to send the teams into the third tied at 0-0.
WT looked to take the lead in the top of the third inning as Ramirez layed down a perfect drag bunt with one out for the single followed two batters later by a Dacosin walk to put runners on first and second with two outs but Watson got out of another jam with a fly ball in foul territory down the left field line to end the frame.
The WT defense took one away in the bottom of the fourth inning as
Tyler Wilkinson timed a jump perfectly at the left center field wall to rob a leadoff homerun from the Aggies, CU responded with a pair of walks followed by a wild pitch to move the runners to second and third before a Lauren Renneker single up the middle plated the first run of the game. A fly ball to the right center field wall saw Wilkinson and Erwin collide as the ball fell to the grass to score another Cameron run and knock
Rita Hokianga from the game.
Tori Bayer entered and gave up a bloop RBI single down the right field line followed by a wild pitch that scored another run, Bayer responded as the junior right hander struck out the next two batters to end the inning with Cameron leading 4-0.
Brittany Gehle started off the fifth as she reached on a throwing error and moved to second on a wild pitch and a Ramirez walk but the offensive woes continued as Watson forced ground ball to second base for the inning-ending double play as CU took the 4-0 lead to the bottom of the fifth inning. Bayer sat the Aggies down in order in the bottom of the fifth but Watson answered with a 1-2-3 frame of her own to send the teams to the bottom of the sixth with Cameron leading 4-0.
Watson would walk Gehle with two outs in the top of the seventh but her 12th strikeout of the game would complete the one hit shutout. Hokianga fell to 10-4 on the season, giving up four runs (all earned) on three hits with three walks and one strikeout in 3.1 innings of work while Bayer was solid in the circle, giving up no runs on one hit with one walk and three K's in the final 3.2 innings.
Game #2#2 West Texas A&M 4, #25 Cameron 2
The Lady Buffs found their offense early in the nightcap as Gehle and Erwin registered walks with one out followed two batters later by a
Lacey Taylor two run double, WT wasn't done her as
Allie Smith singled home Taylor from second base to give the Lady Buffs the early 3-0 lead. The Aggies tried to cut into the lead in the home half of the frame with runners on first and second with no outs but
Hannah Newcomb had other ideas as the junior forced a ground ball back to the circle to hold a 3-0 lead after one inning.
WT added to their lead in the top of the second inning as they came up clutch with two outs as Gehle and Ramirez singled followed by an Erwin RBI single up the middle to stretch the lead to 4-0. Newcomb continued to deal as she held the Aggies scoreless thru three innings of play thanks to an inning ending double-play ground ball to Ramirez at shortstop as WT took the 4-0 lead into the fourth inning. The Aggies plated their first run of the game in the bottom of the fourth inning with a Breezy McComas solo homerun to left center with one out to cut the lead to 4-1.
The Aggies threatened in the bottom of the fifth inning with a one out single up the middle that knocked Newcomb from the circle and brought
Kilee Halbert from the bullpen, the freshman inherited a 2-0 count and ended the inning on a full count offering as
Allie Cranfill made a diving grab down the line at first base and touched the base for the inning ending double play as the Lady Buffs took a 4-1 lead to the sixth inning.
Cameron wouldn't go down without a fight as they used a WT fielding error and a bunt single to put runners on first and second with no outs in the bottom of the seventh, another bunt single plated a run to move runners to the corners. Halbert forced a ground out to Gehle at second base for the first out to move the runners to second and third as Bayer entered the game, she struck out the first Aggie she saw at the plate for the second out followed by a huge strike out looking of Tara Martini to end the game as the Lady Buffs took the nightcap, 4-2. Newcomb moved to 7-1 on the season, giving up one run on five hits with two walks and two strikeouts while Bayer grabbed her third save of the season as the junior struck out the final two batters of the game.
