Austin, Texas-Curt Dixon pitched seven and one-third shutout innings and Bruce Cameron homered and took away a two-run homer with an outstanding defensive catch from his center field position to propel No. 22 Ozarks to a 5-2 win over Concordia University Texas in the first round of the American Southwest Conference playoffs on Friday.
The three-game series continues tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. The second game, if necessary, will begin 30 minutes at the conclusion of the first game. Ozarks improves to 32-9 while Concordia falls to 26-14.
Cameron put one run on the board with a solo shot over the right field wall in the first while Dixon scattered three hits through six and one-third innings.
In the third, Concordia threatened as they had runners on the corners with two outs, but Dixon got a big defensive play from first baseman Robert Mummey. Mummey made a diving stop to rob Brian Wenecke of a hit down the first base line. In the fourth, Cory Briggs led off the inning with a deep homer to left center and one batter later, Mummey hammered one over the left field wall to make it 3-0. In the seventh and with two outs, John Glenn roped a double to left center. Scott Dietz then ripped a single to right field to score Glenn and pad Ozarks’ advantage to 4-0. Dietz later recorded a RBI double in the seventh. The play of the game, however, was Cameron’s catch in the fourth. The junior center fielder from Houston, Texas, chased down a deep shot to left center robbing Stephen Szkotak of a two-run homer. Cameron sacrificed his body as he crashed into the four-foot outfield metal wall. His momentum carried him completely over the wall, but it didn’t matter as he jumped up to show the field umpire he still had the ball in his glove.
Facing a 5-2 deficit in the bottom of the ninth, Concordia made things interesting as they had two runners on with one out. But John Scheuring recorded a strikeout and then forced a pop-up to secure the win. It was his third save of the season.
The Eagles tagged Concordia starter Ethan Morrison with eight hits and five runs in six and one-third innings.
Briggs, Glenn and Dietz all had two hits.
Dixon (9-1) tossed eight and one-third innings, scattering eight hits and striking out six.
Topics: Athletics