FARMVILLE, Va. – A spurt of runs in the middle innings pushed No. 14 Campbell past Longwood baseball on Sunday afternoon in the series finale.
The Camels (27-8, 13-2 Big South), who came in with the top offense in the Big South, plated runs in each of the final six innings to down a feisty Longwood (15-24, 5-10 Big South) side 16-5 and take the series after the two teams split the opening two games.
SCORE:
R H E
#14 CAM 16 16 4
LWU 5 9 4
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The two sides were locked in early, as both offenses got to work in the first inning. Campbell jumped out to a 2-0 lead after half an inning, but the Lancers immediately responded by loading the bases in the home half of the frame. A
Gregory Ryan, Jr. sac fly and a wild pitch knotted the score at two apiece.
The Lancers the put runners at the corners in the third inning, and
Luis DeLeon laid down a suicide squeeze to give Longwood the 3-2 lead.
However, the Camels, who boast one of the top offenses in the nation, answered with runs in the fourth. Logan Jordan swatted a two-run home run to left field for a 4-3 lead, and he led the charge for the Camel offense.
Jordan went 4-6 with three RBI and two runs scored on the day. Jarrod Belbin also posted three hits and three RBI, and he scored three times.
Once Campbell took the lead, the team never looked back.
Drew Camp hit a two-out, two-run single in the ninth for Longwood, but the damage had been done.
Cameron O'Brien (3-0) earned the win for Campbell after giving up three runs, all earned, on seven hits in 5.0 innings. He struck out two and walked one.
Guillermo Garcia, Jr. (1-2) took the loss for Longwood. He came on in relief in the first inning before giving up the go-ahead homer in the fourth. He threw 3.1 innings while striking out three and giving up two runs on two hits and a walk.
WHAT THEY SAID:
"Credit to Campbell, they've got an incredible team this year," said Longwood Head Coach
Chad Oxendine. "They are ranked where they are for a reason. Our guys came out and competed all weekend. We've got to continue to focus on the details and continue to grow and improve as we go forward in conference play."
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
Eliot Dix went 2-5 at the plate, his team-leading 17
th multi-hit game of the year.
Ryan drove in his 41
st RBI of the season. He leads the team in RBI.
Longwood drew six walks while only striking out six times as a team.
Camp drove in two runs, the 12
th time in his past 14 games he has had an RBI for the Lancers.
UP NEXT:
Longwood wraps up a four-game homestand by hosting Norfolk State on Tuesday, April 18. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m., and the game will be aired on ESPN+.
#GoWood #HorsePower