Jacob Jardel
Sports Editor
@JJardel_Writing
Cameron softball averted a four-game sweep with a win in its final matchup against West Texas A&M on March 25 and 26 in Canyon, Texas.
The Aggies came into the slate on a six-game winning streak after taking two games against Texas A&M-Kingsville and sweeping Eastern New Mexico. However, they faced off against a top-ranked WT team coming off a series win against Texas A&M-Commerce.
Game 1
A late Lady Buff run in the late innings proved to be the Aggies’ downfall in the 9-1 run rule loss.
The Black and Gold jumped to the lead in the first inning off junior third baseman Annie Combs’ solo shot to left center. This run would prove to be the only offense for CU.
West Texas charged ahead in the bottom of the inning with a pair of unearned runs. After a scoreless second, the Buffs pulled ahead with a three-run third. The game ended after WT scored a pair of runs each in the fourth and fifth innings.
Junior Emily Wasinger (13-3) took the loss after allowing nine runs – four earned – off 13 hits in 4.1 innings of work.
Fielding lapses felled the Aggies, with three errors allowing five unearned runs to cross the plate for West Texas. The low offensive output also kept the Black and Gold off the scoreboard. Junior outfielder Nikki Horton contributed to the Cameron offensive output with two of the team’s five hits.
Game 2
CU’s offensive slump carried over into the second game of the Friday doubleheader, losing to the Lady Buffs 11-1 in five innings.
West Texas jumped out to the early lead with a seven-run outburst in the bottom of the first inning. They followed up that effort with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second frame.
Neither team scored in the third, but the Aggies answered back in the top of the fourth with senior infielder Sonora Zukerman’s solo homer, number 39 of her college career. However, WT came back with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning. A scoreless fifth inning ended Cameron’s day on the diamond early.
Freshman pitcher Alyssa Osterdock (6-5) gained the loss, allowing 11 runs, 10 of which were earned. She yielded 11 hits and three walks with a wild pitch in four innings on the mound.
CU tallied a total of three hits, two of which came from Zukerman’s bat. They also committed an error in the field.
Game 3
The Aggies pushed the Buffs early on in the Saturday opener, but late West Texas runs gave CU the 8-3 loss.
WT struck first in the bottom of the fourth with a pair of runs. However, Cameron struck back with a pair of runs in the top of the third inning. Horton scored on a throwing error that allowed junior Paige Daino to take first base. Zukerman would also cross the plate after Combs’ groundout to second base.
The Lady Buffs answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the frame and the bottom of the next inning. The Black and Gold closed the gap to 4-3 after Combs hit a solo homer to left, her second of the series.
West Texas padded their lead in the bottom of the inning with a four-run outburst that sealed their third victory of the series.
Wasinger (13-4) earned her second loss of the series, allowing eight earned off nine hits and four walks in five innings. She struck out four and hit a batter.
Zukerman lead the Aggie offense, going 2-3 with a walk and a run batted in. As a whole, CU notched eight hits – one fewer than WT – and committed a lone fielding error.
Game 4
Cameron’s bats came to life early on, propelling them to a 9-6 series-closing win.
The scoring started in the first when Daino drove home junior outfielder Breezy McComas. The big blast of the inning came from Combs’ three-run homer that brought home Daino and Zukerman. It was her third of the series and seventh of the season.
Senior catcher Chelsea DeLong kept the scoring spree going with a two-run shot of her own. Freshman outfielder Jordan Kisselburg scored on the blast to left center.
After a West Texas run in the bottom of the inning, scoring for both teams ceased until Zukerman’s 40th career home run, a solo shot in the top of the fouth.
The Buffs scored three runs in the bottom of the inning. However, the Black and Gold answered back with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth. Freshman infielder Abbey Warren scored on a McComas single. McComas later scored on a Zukerman double.
Despite allowing two runs in the bottom of the sixth, Cameron held on for the win.
Zukerman (6-3) picked up the win for the Aggies after allowing six runs off 14 hits and a walk in just over five innings of work. Wasinger worked the final inning-plus, yielding one hit and striking out one to pick up her second save of the year.
Cameron moved to 25-12 on the season, 12-6 in conference, heading into a weekend series against Texas Woman’s University.