BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Big South Preseason Player of the Year Matthew Barefoot homered and drove in three runs to power second-place Campbell to a 12-1 win over Longwood in the series opener Thursday evening at Jim Perry Stadium.
Playing to overtake first-place Radford for the Big South regular-season championship on the final weekend of the regular season, Campbell (30-19, 17-7 Big South) deployed its high-powered offense and put up double-digit runs for the 11th time this season. The Fighting Camels remain just a half-game behind the Highlanders for first place in the Big South.
Barefoot led that effort with his fourth three-RBI game of the season, doing so from the leadoff spot where he went 2-for-3 with a run, a walk and his 11th home run of the season. Fellow outfielder A.J. Hrica also drove in three runs to back a 7.0-inning start from ace Matt Horrell, who worked around eight hits to shut out the Lancers (11-39, 5-20 Big South).
The bulk of Longwood's offense came from the bats of junior
Antwaun Tucker and sophomore
Jack Schnell, who raked seven of the team's 10 hits. Tucker was a blistering 4-for-4, while Schnell finished 3-for-4 and drove in Longwood's lone run of the night.
However, Campbell's Big South-leading pitching staff kept the rest of Longwood's lineup in check. Horrell, ranked No. 3 in the conference in ERA and first in fewest walks allowed struck out nine and gave away just one walk before freshman right-hander Zach Adams took over in the eighth to record the final six outs.
Adams surrendered the Fighting Camels' lone run of the night when Schnell singled in the eighth to drive in Tucker, who led off the inning with his fourth hit of the game.
However by that point, Campbell was riding a comfortable double-digit cushion bolstered by a six-run seventh inning that featured back-to-back RBI singles from Collin Wolf and Koby Collins. Those two Camels both registered multi-hit days and contributed to a Campbell offense that sent five of its 12 hits for extra bases.
That late offensive surge erased a strong start from reliever-turned-starter
John Gregory (3-4), who held Campbell to just three runs in his first five innings on the mound. In only his third career start, Gregory worked out of several jams to keep the Fighting Camels in check and Longwood trailing only 3-0 through five innings before he was undone by a three-run sixth.
Campbell continued to work on Longwood's bullpen after Gregory's exit until freshman southpaw
Bryan Golnick shut out the Fighting Camels over the game's final two innings.
Campbell and Longwood will continue the series with a 3 p.m. first pitch Friday at Jim Perry Stadium.
#GoWood
