PHOTO BY ZAK ZEINERT Pitcher Cameron Aspaas delivers a pitch against UCO on Feb. 14.
The Wildcats’ bats exploded during their four-game weekend series with Central Oklahoma. The ‘Cats scored 49 runs and took three of four games from the Bronchos, improving to 7-1 on the season.
The Wildcats started the weekend series by cranking UCO 15-6 on Saturday afternoon, followed by a 12-1 run-rule victory Sunday. Monday’s doubleheader was a tale of two teams; the Wildcats lost the first game 6-2 but dominated the second game, winning 20-6.
“In Game One today, we just couldn’t get our bats going,” said junior relief pitcher Chay Lytle. “In the second game, we straight dominated. We ended 3-1, which is what you want to do every weekend – especially at home.”
A record-setting inning played a huge part in the Wildcats’ offensive outburst. In the bottom of the third inning of the fourth game, the Wildcats set a school record of 13 runs; second baseman Chris Hall broke the game wide open with a grand slam.
“The way the wind was blowing, we expected some high scoring games,” said Head Coach Britt Bonneau. “We just didn’t know if it would be tilted in our favor.”
Sophomore Aaron Lambrix started the Wildcats’ fourth game and was pitching effectively when the Wildcat bats went wild.
“We put up 13 runs, and it took us about 35 minutes,” Lambrix said. “What’s crazy is that we did it with two outs. That’s by far the best two-out rally I’ve ever seen.”
Unfortunately for Lambrix, he had to be removed from the game due to a lengthy delay as his teammates raked the UCO pitching staff. Lambrix said long delays are hard on pitchers who try desperately to keep their arms warm in between innings.
“I don’t like long delays; after not throwing for a while, your arm gets cold,” Lambrix said. “I’d rather us score runs like that than anything else though.”
Among the Wildcats’ high-scoring games was an out-of-place 6-2 defeat. The Wildcats did, however, get a strong pitching performance out of starter Zach Sneed in the loss. Sneed pitched five innings, giving up five hits and just two runs. Unfortunately, the bullpen was unable to back up the solid effort, and the offense never could get going.
“We left a lot of guys on base early in that game,” Bonneau said. “We couldn’t come up with the hits when we needed them.”
Next up for the ‘Cats is a nine-game road trip. Bonneau said the trip will be an opportunity for his team to grow as they spend a lot of time together on the road.
