Yoemen blast Buna in two to earn ticket to regional finals
The Cameron Yoemen baseball team kept their hopes of a state title alive on Saturday defeating the Buna Cougars 9-1 and 2-1 to head on to the Regional Finals this week against Malakoff.
They Yoemen dropped game one to Buna on Wednesday night in Huntsville.
They obliterated the Buna Cougars 9-1 in game one on Saturday.
Cameron batted first in the game and Ryan Host (10) advanced to first base on a catcher’s interference call. That would be followed with a walk by Landon Greene (9), Armando Reyes (2) came in as the pinch runner for Greene. Both advanced a base on a double steal. Cameron couldn’t bring them home in the top of the first inning as the inning ended on a groundout.
Greene got the start on the mound for Cameron and pitched a shutout first inning with big help from the defense including an outstanding diving catch made by Adam Cardona (1).
The Yoemen didn’t score in the top of the second inning. Greene came back to the mound in the bottom of the second inning and allowed a leadoff walk. He regained control and escaped the bottom of the second the inning with three straight outs.
Bobby Borgas (7) started the top of the third inning with a leadoff single. This was followed by a single by Host.
Borgas was able to steal home plate for the first run of the game. This was followed up with an RBI (runs batted in) bunt single by Dillan Akin (4) for a 2-0 lead in the top of the third inning. The inning would come to an end on a groundout to the pitcher by Adam Cardona.
Greene returned to the mound for the bottom of the third inning and allowed a leadoff walk. That Buna runner would advance to second base on a sacrifice bunt.
The Yoemen would eventually throw him out trying to score on an incredible relay throw from the left fielder, Borgas to the catcher, Akin, to tag the runner out at home plate.
“Our outfield has been doing their job all season,” Coach Hector Delgadillo said. “They understand what their role is and got the job done.”
Cameron would end the bottom of the third inning on a spectacular catch by Brannon McCall (6) in foul territory showing hustle on a fantastic play.
The Yoemen came to bat in the top of the fourth inning and Jaidyn Sanchez (11) reached first base on an infield single. He advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Borgas.
The Yoemen would add to their lead with the help of an RBI triple by Tracer Lopez (3) to send Sanchez home for a 3-0 lead. Lopez would then come home on an RBI triple by Host for a 4-0 lead. The offensive barrage would continue with an RBI single by Greene to make it a 5-0 Cameron lead. Reyes came in as the pinch runner for Greene.
The top of the fourth inning ended on a groundout. Greene went back on the mound for the bottom of the fourth inning and allowed a one out infield single. He escaped the bottom of the fourth inning with the help of a groundout that went right to him.
The Yoemen came to bat in the top of the fifth inning with Marino Cardona (15) reaching first base with a leadoff walk. He advanced to second then third base on consecutive wild pitches. He would come home on an RBI single by McCall to make the score in favor of Cameron 6-0. Sadly, McCall would later be picked off at first base. The top of the fifth inning ended on a strikeout. Even with that strikeout, the Yoemen showed their true form on offense and showed what they’ve been able to do all year.
“Offensively we were able to string a few at bats together and make things happen on the bases,” Delgadillo said. “We made some really good adjustments at the plate.”
Returning to the mound for the bottom of the fifth inning, Greene allowed two one out hits in the bottom of the fifth inning. He allowed a run on a wild pitch cutting the Cameron lead to 6-1. He allowed another walk but got out of the jam in the bottom of the fifth inning on a groundout. The Yoemen were unable to score in the top of the sixth inning. Greene returned to the mound for the bottom of the sixth inning and allowed a one out infield single. Cameron would end the bottom of the sixth inning by completing another well-executed double play.
“Very impressed with our defense,” Delgadillo said. “That’s what got us here and it showed today. When we can pitch and play defense we can compete.”
Akin reached first base in the top of the seventh inning on an infield single. Kason Goolsby (14) entered as the pinch runner for Akin. This was followed up with a single by Marino Cardona. They both advanced a base on a sacrifice bunt by Adam Cardona. They would come home on a two RBI double by Sanchez to extend the lead to 8-1.
Cameron would keep up the scoring with an RBI single by Borgas to make it a 9-1 game. Lopez reached first base on an error, then Host got on base with a walk.
The top of the seventh inning would come to an end on a strikeout. Greene allowed one out single, but with the help of his defense, he finished the game on a double play to win the game 9-1 and keep the series and the season alive. A big key to this victory was the combined strength of the defense and Greene’s heroic and gutsy performance on the mound, allowing one run on seven hits and just three walks.
“Landon was able to throw strikes and get ahead in counts,” Delgadillo said. “He competed and never looked back. Our defense came through and made plays behind him.”
But the job was still not done yet, as they still had one more game to play and win the same day for the right to move on to the next round of the playoffs.
The Yoemen completed the series comeback in an epic low scoring game as they defeated Buna 2-1. Adam Cardona (1) got the start for the Yoemen and allowed a leadoff single. He almost escaped the inning cleanly but allowed a run on a two out double. That was all the damage Buna would muster as the top of first inning ended on a strikeout.
Greene (9) tried to start some two out magic for the Yoemen in the bottom of the first inning by getting hit by a pitch. Unfortunately, the bottom of the first inning ended on groundout to the pitcher. Adam Cardona came back to the mound and pitched a shutout second inning. Cameron was unable to score in the bottom of the second inning, keeping the score 1-0 to Buna. Adam Cardona came back to pitch in the top of the third inning and allowed a one out walk followed by a single to the next batter. He worked his way out of the top of the third inning as it ended on a pop put to the infield.
The Yoemen failed to score in the bottom of the third inning. Coach Delgadillo made a pitching change for the fourth inning. Host (10) came in for Adam Cardona. Adam Cardona kept his team in the ball game in the three innings that he pitched, allowing one run on four hits and threw two strikeouts.
“Adam has been ready for some time and we needed to get what we could out of him,” Delgadillo said. “He gave us three solid innings.”
Host helped out his team and pitched a clean fourth inning. Host came to bat in the bottom of the fourth inning earning a leadoff single. That was followed with a single by Greene. They both advanced a base on a well-executed sacrifice bunt by Akin (4).
The Yoemen couldn’t send them home as the bottom of the fourth inning ended on back-to-back strikeouts. Host returned to the mound in the top of the fifth inning and allowed a one out single followed a walk. He then gave up a two out single to load the bases. Fortunately, he was able to get out of the jam with big a strikeout.
McCall (6) led off the bottom of the fifth inning with a walk. Lopez (3) kept the inning alive with a two out single. The Yoemen put themselves on the scoreboard with an huge RBI single by Host to tie the game at one a piece. Host then stole second base. Then Goolsby (14) came in as the pinch runner for Host. The bottom of the fifth inning came to an end on a strikeout. Host returned to the mound and pitched a shutout sixth inning. Akin stated the bottom of the sixth inning reaching first base on an error. He then stole second base. He would be brought home on a clutch two out RBI double by McCall giving the Yoemen a 2-1 lead.
“We knew we needed to get a guy on base,” Delgadillo said. “After a failed attempted bunt Dillan was able to move to second base on a stolen base. Brannon had been seeing and hitting the ball hard today. So, we knew this was our best chance to score a run with two outs. Just a clutch AB (at bat) by Brannon.”
McCall advanced to third base on a balk, but the bottom of the sixth inning ended on a strikeout. Host came out to pitch the important top of the seventh inning to try and preserving the victory hit a leadoff batter.
Delgadillo then made another pitching change. Lopez came in for Host. Host was also able to keep the Yoemen in the game by pitching three phenomenal innings, allowing no runs on two hits and just one walk.
“We knew Ryan had some success on Wednesday against them,” Delgadillo said. “He came in a did a great job of keeping them off balance.”
Lopez continued his brilliant closing magic with three straight outs to clinch the game 2-1 and the series win. With this series win, Cameron will now be advancing in the regional finals for the first time since their state championship year in 2011.
“We’re very proud of these boys,” Delgadillo said. “Our mindset was we’re playing two games today, period. And to turn around and play that second game in the middle of the day was tough but these boys wanted it. We showed some true grit and determination. They left it all out on the field. Very proud of our boys and coaching staff! Also, big shout to our fans who came and supported us this weekend!”
Cameron’s next opponent will be the Malakoff Tigers. The series will start Thursday at 7 p.m. and will be played at Don Sanders Stadium at Sam Houston State University. Games two and three (if needed) will also be at Don Sanders Stadium at Sam Houston State. Game two will be on Friday and start at 7 p.m. and if there is a game three, it will be Saturday and will start at 2 p.m.