Cameron’s Angels Help Take Down No. 1 Tyler
Coy Tosses 1-Hitter; Adam VI Slams Homer, Singles Twice In Victory Over Silver Knights
CAMERON -- In a matchup of two of the top 10 Class A baseball teams in West Virginia, Cameron had a pair of Angels on its side Monday.
Sophomore Coy Angel was perfect for six innings and older brother Adam Angel IV collected three hits and drove in two runs as No. 10 Cameron (9-5) stunned top-ranked Tyler Consolidated (12-1) by a 7-1 count at sun-splashed Dragons Field inside the Cameron Recreation Park.
"We've had some big baseball wins over the years, but this one has to rank right up there with them," Cameron head coach Adam Angel said. "We put together a complete game. We pitched well. We hit well and we fielded the ball well, with one exception there late.
"I'm really proud of how the kids handled their business today."
After Coy Angel struck out the side to start the game, Adam Angel hit a 3-0 pitch from Jayden Helmick over the fence in left for a 1-0 lead. After Cole Burkett singled, Lance Hartley belted an 0-1 offering to deep left-center for a 3-0 margin.
"That was a good way to start the game," coach Angel said. "That was a big win. It doesn't get much better than that unless we go Class AA or AAA in West Virginia or (Class) 2A or bigger in Ohio.
The three runs were more than enough for the reigning OVAC Class A Player of the Year, Coy Angel. The right-hander struck out six of the first nine Silver Knights he faced and only allowed four balls out of the infield in the first six frames, two flies to right and a pair to center.
"Coy Angel on the mound was unbelievable tonight. He sat in the (strike) zone with his fastball and mixed up his pitches enough to keep us off balance," Tyler Consolidated head coach Robbie Jones. "You've got to tip your hat to a kid like that. We came in here hitting .400 as a team and scoring a bunch of runs against good competition. Tonight we ran into a kid that was on fire."
Cameron made it 5-0 in its third at-bat as Adam Angel IV reached on an infield single up the middle. He stole second and, after Burkett walked, went to third when a throw from right was off target after Hartley had fouled out. Burkett went to second on the error and both came around to score when Coy Angel's grounder to second was misplayed.
An RBI single by Adam Angel IV and an ensuing run-scoring base hit by Burkett bumped the count to 7-0.
"They had just won the division they were in at Myrtle Beach, so they are a good ball team," Coach Angel noted. "Coy shut them down. It was my fault on the base hit. I went out to the mound and told him to stay away on the outside of the plate, but when we went 3-1 on him we came inside and he hit it.
Coy Angel walked Helmick on a 3-2 pitch to start the seventh. A groundout advanced Helmick to second and, after Angel recorded his 10th punch out, Ty Walton worked the count to 3-1 before lining a solid single to left-center that not only broke up the no-hitter but also the shutout as Helmick scored.
"They just played better than us tonight," Jones admitted. "Both of these teams were down at Myrtle Beach. We'll see them again in about a week at our place."
In addition to the three hits by Angel IV, Burkett had a trio of singles. They each scored twice.