UTB-TSC: Camorlinga's triple sparks Scorpions comeback

Jorge Camorlinga's triple to right-center field scored the go-ahead runs during the eighth inning to pace the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College to a come-from-behind 4-2 win over Bacone College (Okla.) in a Red River Athletic Conference game Saturday at Scorpion Field.

The Scorpions (15-5, 10-2 RRAC) swept the three-game series from the Warriors (0-9 RRAC).

"It’s good to get the sweep," Scorpions coach Bryan Aughney said. "We needed all three of these games because they're conference games. We did what we needed to do to win. Mitch struggled a little bit early but did a nice job on the mound."

With the Scorpions trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the eighth inning, pinch hitter Adam Miller started the rally with a single to left-center. Nick Loftis bunted to sacrifice Miller to second, but Bacone elected to try to make a play on Miller at second. The throw was late, and the Scorpions had runners on first and second.

Camorlinga then followed with a triple that split the gap in right-center field, scoring Miller and Loftis to give the Scorpions a 3-2 lead. Joel Fernandez then laid down a suicide squeeze bunt to score Camorlinga and make the score 4-2.

Mitch Schaafsma turned in another strong performance on the mound for the Scorpions' pitching staff. Schaafsma (4-2) threw 105 pitches in eight innings. He allowed six hits, struck out four and walked two. Adam Vera pitched the ninth inning for his first save of the season.

For the third straight game, Bacone scored a single run in the top of the first inning. The Warriors took a 2-0 lead in the fifth before the Scorpions scored their first run on a run-scoring single by Matt Warner to make it 2-1.

Camorlinga and Warner had two hits each, with Camorlinga also scoring twice.

"Offensively, we weren't getting it done until the last inning," Aughney said. "But our mental approach from a day-to-day basis has got to improve. But at the end of the day, we'll take the sweep. Hopefully, with a week of practice, we'll iron some things out."

UTB-TSC next plays a three-game conference series on the road against Jarvis Christian College on March 11 and 12. The Scorpions return home for eight straight games within six days March 14 through 19.