Yoe season comes to an end in Regional Finals
The Cameron Yoemen baseball team’s run for state came to an end at the hands of the Malakoff Tigers last week.
The Yoemen were shut out on Thursday, June 3, 7-0 in game one of the Regional Finals. They dropped game two 6-4 on Friday night.
Brannon McCall (6) got the start on the mound for the Yoemen on Thursday and pitched a shutout in the first inning.
Cameron couldn’t score in the bottom of the first inning. McCall came back on the mound and pitched another shutout in the second inning. Cameron was still unable to score in the bottom of the second inning.
McCall returned to the mound and pitched a clean third inning. Cameron got their first base runner on a leadoff walk by Adam Cardona (1). After that, the bottom of the third inning ended with three consecutive strikeouts.
McCall returned to the mound for the top of the fourth inning and gave up a two out solo home run for the first run of the game to put the Tigers ahead 1-0. He then allowed a walk but the top of the fourth inning ended on a groundout to McCall.
As Cameron came to bat, Landon Greene (9) tried to start a spark in the bottom of the fourth inning with a one out walk. Sadly, that would be all for them on offense as the bottom of the fourth inning ended on a groundout. McCall came back to the mound for the top of the fifth inning and allowed a leadoff walk. Malakoff got on base with a bunt single. That was followed up by a single to load the bases.
McCall allowed a bases loaded walk for a 2-0 deficit. He then gave up a single for a 3-0 game. He then allowed another bases loaded walk for a 4-0 score. McCall finished the top of the fifth inning on a strikeout.
“When you give a team extra outs this deep in the playoffs, they’ll take advantage of it,” Coach Hector Delgadillo said. “And they did just that. You can’t afford to make those kinds of mistakes.”
Marino Cardona (15) led off the bottom of the fifth inning with a single. Bobby Borgas (7) tried to continue the momentum with a two out single.
The Yoemen were unable to score as the bottom of the fifth inning ended on a pop out. McCall came back to the mound for the top of the sixth inning and allowed a two out solo home run for a 5-0 deficit. The top of the sixth inning ended on a line out.
Ryan Host (10) tried to start a rally in the bottom of the sixth inning with a leadoff single. This was followed up with a walk by Greene. The Yoemen failed to bring them home as the bottom of the sixth inning ended on a line out.
“We just didn’t come out and hit,” Delgadillo said. “That goes back to us needing to get those crucial and timely hits. We didn’t do a good job of that.”
Delgadillo made a pitching change to start the top of the seventh inning. Host came in for McCall.
Host allowed a two out walk and then gave up a two run home run by Malakoff for a 7-0 deficit. Host then gave up a single but closed out the inning with help from a tag out at first base started by a perfect throw by right fielder Armando Reyes (2) to the third baseman Greene. Greene then threw the ball to Marino Cardona at first base to make the tag.
In Cameron’s final at bat, Adam Cardona led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a single. That would be all the offense for the game as Cameron would make three straight outs to complete the 7-0 Tigers shutout.
“We just have to play our best baseball,” Delgadillo said before Friday’s game. “They’re a good team. We need to match their energy. Pitch for pitch and hit for hit. Not much we can do against the long ball. They came out and hit tonight. We just need to make sure we limit the damage when possible and keep the game close.”
The Yoemen would fall to Malakoff on Saturday as they lost game two in a heartbreaking 6-4 loss.
Tracer Lopez (3) got things started for the Yoemen with a leadoff single then stole second base. This was followed by a walk for Ryan Host (10). Greene (9) would be hit by a pitch to load the bases. Kason Goolsby (14) came in as the pinch runner for Greene. Dillan Akin (4) grounded into an RBI (runs batted in) double play for the first run of the game.
The top of the first inning later ended on a groundout. Greene got the start on the mound for Cameron and pitched a shutout first inning. Cameron was unable to score in the top of the second inning. Greene came back on the mound and pitched a shutout second inning. Bobby Borgas (7) led off the top of the third inning with a double. That would be all the offense for the Yoemen as the inning ended on three straight outs.
Greene came back to pitch for the bottom of the third inning allowed a two out walk. He allowed a two run home run to the next Malakoff batter making Cameron trail 2-1. The bottom of the third inning ended on a groundout. Cameron couldn’t answer back in the top of the fourth inning. Greene came back to pitch for the bottom of the fourth inning and allowed a one out walk.
The Yoemen allowed a base runner on a fielding error. Fortunately, there was no damage as the bottom of the fourth inning ended on a double play starting at third base. The top of the fifth inning looked promising with leadoff walks for Adam Cardona (1) and Jaidyn Sanchez (11). Both advanced a base on a wild pitch. They would both come home to score on an RBI single by Host to take back the lead 3-2. Host advanced to second base on a balk. He came home to score on an RBI single by Greene making it a 4-2 lead.
“We were able to get some timely hits,” Delgadillo said. “We got the runners we needed on base and we were able to find ways to score. We had that big hit by Ryan Host to drive in two runs.”
The top of the fifth inning ended on a line out. Delgadillo made a pitching change in the fifth inning. Lopez came in for Greene. Greene played very well in his four innings of work. He allowed two runs on just three hits and struck out three. His only runs allowed was on a home run.
“Landon was able to complement his fastball with his curveball tonight,” Delgadillo said. “He was also able to pitch out of a few situations and get the outs when we needed it.”
Unfortunately, the bottom of the fifth inning did not start off well. Cameron allowed two straight base runners on fielding errors then Lopez allowed a walk to load the bases.
The next Malakoff hitter up hit a single to score two runs tie the game at four runs each. Cameron gave back the lead with the help of another error at first base to make the score 5-4. Lopez allowed another run on a wild pitch to make it a 6-4 game. The bottom of the fifth inning finally came to an end on a groundout.
“We just didn’t play defense in the fifth inning,” Delgadillo said. “We had some mental errors that cost us an out or two. I love the effort in trying to make plays but we just didn’t execute them.”
Marino Cardona (15) led off the top of the sixth inning with a single. Goolsby came in as the pinch runner for Marino Cardona. This was followed by a walk for Adam Cardona. They both advanced on a well-executed sacrifice bunt by Sanchez.
The Yoemen could not take advantage of the scoring opportunity as the inning ended a line out to centerfield. Delgadillo made a pitching change to start the bottom of the sixth inning. Host came in for Lopez. Host allowed a leadoff double then allowed a walk.
The Malakoff runner on second base advanced to third base on a wild pitch. The Yoemen would complete a double play on a sacrifice fly attempt as the ball was caught by right fielder, Sanchez, and he threw an amazing throw to the catcher, Akin, and he tagged out the runner heading for home. The bottom of the sixth inning ended on a strikeout.
Cameron tried to start a rally in the top of the seventh inning but was unable to do so as they would fall to Malakoff 6-4. Even with the loss, Coach Delgadillo is very proud of his team as they made history this year and made the school’s first regional finals appearance since the championship team in 2011.
“I’m extremely proud of our boys and our coaching staff,” Delgadillo said. “I’ve seen some maturity happen and it had to happen quick considering we didn’t play last year. Overall, I just loved how competitive and resilient we were. For a being young team, these boys don’t shy away from a challenge. They understand that now and know what the expectations are and will be for next year. Lots to be proud of and looking forward to next season.”
The Yoemen will begin next season in good shape as only one senior will leave the team – Esteban Montez.