Jacob Jardel
Sports Editor
@JJardel_Writing
The Aggie baseball team continued their hot start on the new season, defeating Southern Nazarene University in a home-and-home series on Feb. 12 and 13.
The first of the doubleheaders saw two commanding Aggie victories in Bethany on the first day, while the second saw CU winning their first two games at McCord Field this season.
Game 1
Cameron kept the Crimson Storm at bay in the early innings to take the first game of the series 7-1.
Both teams started off with a quiet first inning, but the Aggies came back in the second to tally the first runs of the game when redshirt junior Cody Knight scored on an SNU error. Redshirt senior Nate Hale would later come home on a single from junior Jorden Fields.
The next two innings remained scoreless until Southern Nazarene broke senior Bryan Belote’s no-hitter with a fifth-inning double, scoring the runner on base after a Cameron fielding error.
The Black and Gold would seal the win in the next two frames. Junior Cody Bower singled up the middle to score freshman Colton Adams in the sixth.
The final inning saw an offensive explosion from the Aggies. Lone Star Conference (LSC) hitter of the week Bronson Pulgados homered to right field to start the frame before redshirt sophomore Cole Williams drove in Hale on an RBI double.
Two unearned runs from Williams and Bower would close out CU’s four-run seventh, and freshman Andrew Garza would strike out the final three batters to seal the Aggies’ win.
Belote (2-0) held SNU hitless throught the first four-plus innings, finishing the game after allowing one run in five innings.
Game 2
CU came out swinging the next game, with early runs making the difference in their 13-4 win.
The scoring started in the first inning for the Aggies after a fielding error allowed senior Tyler McKinzie to score. Hale scored the next inning on a sacrifice fly from Williams, and Bower would score on another error to bring the score to 3-0 after two.
The Crimson Storm narrowed the gap after two runs in the third inning, but CU answered in the top of the fourth.
Pulgados singled home senior Jonathan Reyes to start the Aggie scoring outburst in the frame. Knight brought home McKinzie on an RBI single before senior Brandon Wright drove in Knight and Pulgados on a double to center field.
Wright and Hale came back around to score after the SNU pitcher hit two consecutive batters with the bases loaded. A wild pitch brought Williams home and cap the scoring at seven runs in the inning, brining the overall tally to 10-2.
Southern Nazarene came back with two runs in the bottom of the fourth, but they would stay quiet for the rest of the game.
Cameron scored three more insurance runs in the top of the ninth off McKinzie’s three-run homer to left, brining the score to its final total.
Junior Matt Glasmann (2-0) earned the win after pitching a flawless fifth inning in relief of starter Dirk Masters and fellow reliever Blake Welch.
Game 3
Cameron carried the momentum from the doubleheader the previous day into the first game, overcoming an early deficit to defeat Southern Nazarene 5-1 at home.
The Crimson Storm drove in the opening run at the top of the first inning, but Cameron was able to bounce back with a run of their own in the home half off of McKinzie’s solo home run. Williams drove a pitch over the center field wall in the bottom of the second to give the Aggies a 2-1 lead.
Southern Nazarene would not score again for the rest of the game as the Black and Gold offense clicked into gear, sealing the victory as the game went on.
The Aggies got on the board next in the fourth inning when Hale stole home. Two innings later, Bower’s two RBI single scored Hale and Fields.
Senior Javarias Banks (1-0) picked up the win for the Aggies, allowing only one run on five hits and two walks. He struck out 10 in his six innings on the bump.
Redshirt senior Logan Fanning kept the lead intact in the final inning, allowing no hits and striking out a batter.
Game 4
The Black and Gold allowed two unearned runs and made four errors in the field, but their offense more than made up for it in their seven-inning 13-3 win.
This game saw Cameron jump on the board with the first runs of the game. Pulgados hit a single, scoring redshirt junior Haydon Bogard. Hale later drove in Pulgados with a single up the middle, bringing the score to 2-0 going into the second frame.
The Crimson Storm answered back with an unearned run of their own at the top of the inning, but the Aggies replied with a big home half.
The scoring barrage started when Williams hit his second homer of the series to bring the score up to 3-1. McKinzie later singled to left to drive in Bower before eventually scoring on a Wright single to center field.
Senior Tyler Cook knocked in a double to bring Wright home, and Hale hit a two-bagger of his own to score cook. Hale later scored a run on Fields’ two-run shot to left field to end the Black and Gold’s second-inning scoring spree at seven runs.
Both teams’ bats remained quiet for another inning and a half before CU came out with another big frame in the bottom of the fourth. Wright scored another run off Cook’s second double of the game. Cook later came home with Fields on Williams’ two-bagger.
Bower drove Williams in with a single to bring the score to 13-1.
Cameron allowed only two runs – one unearned – the rest of the game en route to the run-rule victory.
Senior Codey Upton (1-0) earned the victory after allowing two unearned runs off six hits in five innings. He struck out five and hit a batter.
Cameron is now 7-0 on the season, while Southern Nazerene drops to 0-8.
Their next match is a four-game series against Texas A&M-Kingsville Mar. 4-6 to open up LSC play.