Campbell redshirt freshman Logan Bender, shown earlier in the season, got the win in the second game of a doubleheader Saturday. The former Triton hurler has 20 strikeouts on the year. (Dunn Area Sports Photo/Paul Burgett)
Campbell picked up two baseball wins in a Saturday doubleheader against William & Mary, taking the first game 12-0 before earning a 4-3 win in the second at Jim Perry Stadium in Buies Creek. CU moved to 6-9 on the season, while W&M fell to 5-12.
GAME ONE – Campbell 12, William & Mary 0
Campbell collected a season-high 19 hits and posted its first shutout of the season.
Junior right-hander Michael Horrell (2-1) got the win, pitching six scoreless innings with six strikeouts. The Thomasville native lowered his earned run average to a 2.66.
Nick Butts (0-1) took the loss, giving up six runs on five hits over the first 2.1 innings.
Zach Minnick (3-for-4) notched a game-high four RBIs, including Campbell’s only extra-base hit of the game with a double in the bottom of the third. Kyle Mehl (3-for-4), Christian Jones (2-for-4) and Joe Zirolli (1-for-4) drove in two runs apiece, while Bryce Myers (2-for-4) notched one RBI for Campbell.
The Campbell relievers allowed just one base runner over the final three frames. Andrew Witczak, Jamil Vanheyningen and Wyatt Tyson all pitched one inning and collected a strikeout.
Campbell’s 19 hits were the most in a single game since April 23, 2014 when the Camels defeated Virginia Tech 14-9 on 19 hits. The combined shutout victory was the first for Campbell since defeating Longwood 11-0 on May 19, 2017.
GAME TWO – Campbell 4, William & Mary 3
The Camels earned a come-from-behind victory to take the weekend series two games to one.
Logan Bender (1-0) claimed his first-career win, tossing two and one-third scoreless innings of relief with five strikeouts. The Triton graduate has 20 strikeouts on the season, second on the team.
Tyson Messer picked up his second save of the season after holding the Tribe scoreless over the final two frames with four strikeouts. The junior from Harnett Central struck out the side in the top of the ninth to seal the victory.
Mehl (2-for-4) collected two RBI-singles to lead the Campbell offense. Jones (2-for-3) also logged a multi-hit game for Campbell, while Luis Gimenez (1-for-4) extended his hit streak to nine games.
Traling 3-2 in the bottom of the sixth, Mehl knocked a single to left center as Tyler Anshaw scored the game-tying run. Zirolli put the Camels ahead for good, pushing an RBI-groundout deep in the infield to bring Minnick home.
The Camels return to action with a two-game midweek series against the Rider Broncs, set for Tuesday and Wednesday, March 13-14.
(Campbell media services provided the basis for this report)
