CANYON, Texas -- Midwestern State put on power show tying a school single-game record with six home runs in the opening round of the Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament Friday at Schaeffer Park.
But it wasn't enough to overcome Cameron's 15-hit onslaught as the Aggies came away with the 14-10 win.
Cameron (30-18) moves on to face No. 1-ranked West Texas A&M in the semifinal round Friday night. First pitch from Schaeffer Park is set for 6:30 p.m.
The Mustangs' postseason fate is now in the hands of the NCAA Division II Softball Committee. The championship field is set for release Monday at 9 a.m. via selection show on NCAA.com.
Midwestern State used the long ball to rally from an early 6-0 hole heading into the bottom of the second inning.
Junior third baseman
Kelley Schaefer led off the inning with the first of her two homers for the game with blast over the center-field fence.
The Mustangs alternated outs with homers over the remainder of the stanza as
Katy Vandewater also delivered the first of her two dingers of the afternoon over the center-field fence. Junior
Katelyn Potts closed the inning with blast to left field to pull MSU to within 6-3.
MSU pulled to within a run in the fourth as
Erin Knox sent a sacrifice fly to center field, then Schaefer followed with a run-scoring single to the right-field gap to narrow Cameron's lead to 6-5.
The Aggies pushed the lead back out to seven by scoring a single run in the fourth and five in the fifth for a 12-5 advantage, but Cameron just couldn't keep the ball in the yard for long.
Vandewater led of the sixth with her second home run, then
Kim Jerrick launched her 55th career homer -- a two-run shot to left field -- to pull MSU back to within 12-7.
The Aggies responded with a two-run blast from Paige Daino in the top of the seventh before Schaefer closed the scoring with a two-run shot to center field in the bottom of the frame.
Freshman starter
Katlyn Holmes allowed six runs on seven hits over two innings fall to 11-11 on the season. Knox came on to allow eight runs -- seven earned -- on eight hits over the final five innings.
Schaefer paced MSU's 10-hit attack going 3-for-3 with four RBIs including her 10th and 11th home runs, while Vandewater was 2-for-4 with second consecutive 2-homer performance.
The Mustangs fell to 28-22.
Notables
- Midwestern State matched a school record with six home runs with
Kelley Schaefer and
Katy Vandewater hitting two each, while
Kim Jerrick and
Katelyn Potts also added a homer each.
- It's the second time this season the Mustangs hit six homers in a game as MSU also accomplished the feat in a 22-17 loss to Southern Arkansas in 10 innings on Feb. 3 in Pensacola, Fla.
- The Mustangs boast four players with 10-or-more home runs for the second consecutive season. Senior
Kim Jerrick (15), junior
Katy Vandewater (15), junior
Kelley Schaefer (11) and sophomore
Katelyn Vinson (10) all have double figure homers this season. Jerrick, Schaefer and Vinson combined with
Shelby Carter to perform the feat in 2013.
- Senior catcher
Kim Jerrick launched her 55th career home run on a two-run shot in the sixth inning. The total is the second highest in Lone Star Conference history and one behind former West Texas A&M standout Kim LeComte, who hit 56 from 2009-12.
- Midwestern State has combined to hit 80 home runs this season - the second most in school history - after hitting 86 last season. The Mustangs, however, averaged 1.6 homers per game this season to 1.43 in 2013.
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-- MSUMustangs.com --