LYNCHBURG, Va. — Luis Gimenez roped a go-ahead two-run triple in the bottom of the seventh as top-seeded Campbell defeated No. 2 seed High Point, 7-5, to claim the 2018 Big South Conference baseball tournament title Saturday afternoon at Liberty Baseball Stadium.
The Camels have swept regular season and tournament titles for the first time in program history. Campbell receives an automatic bid to the NCAA baseball tournament for the first time since 2014 and will find out its regional destination on the selection show on Monday (May 28) at noon on ESPNU.
Tournament MVP Matthew Barefoot (Midway) finished 3-for-4 with three doubles to lead the Camels offensively. The redshirt sophomore went 10-for-19 (.526) for the tournament with five doubles, seven runs scored and three RBIs over five games.
Harry Thomas (4-0) earned the win in relief. The senior right-hander retired nine of his first 10 batters faced. A native of Washington, D.C., Thomas collected two strikeouts with one earned run on two hits. He was named to the all-tournament team.
Logan Bender (Triton) picked up his third save of the season, entering the game with two outs in the bottom of the ninth and picking up a strikeout to seal the victory.
Campbell had six extra-base hits for the second-consecutive game. In addition to Gimenez’s triple and Barefoot’s doubles, seniors Jeff Hahs and Kyle Mehl each added two-baggers.
After stranding runners in scoring position in back-to-back frames, Campbell (35-24) struck first with two runs on two hits in the bottom of the third. Hahs laced an RBI double to the left center gap, scoring Barefoot from first who led the inning off as he was hit by a pitch. Hahs advanced to third on a wild pitch before crossing the plate on an RBI groundout from Christian Jones that put the Camels ahead 2-0.
Campbell added a run to its lead in the bottom of the fourth. Mehl lined a double down the left field line for his fourth extra-base hit of the tournament. Barefoot cranked a ball into the left center gap for his second two-bagger of the game to score Mehl.
High Point (34-22) took the lead in the top of the fifth with two-run homers from Hunter Lee and Carson Jackson. One of the runs went down as unearned, as Big South Player of the Year Austin Zente reached on a Campbell throwing error.
Trailing 4-3, the Camels plated three runs in the seventh. Freshman designated hitter Ty Babin tied it up with an RBI bunt single down the first base line, scoring Jones from third. Two batters later, Gimenez ripped a ball off the left center field wall for his first triple of the season as Anshaw and Babin came home to put CU ahead, 6-4.
Campbell added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth on a sacrifice fly to center field from Hahs that scored Barefoot to give the Camels a 7-4 edge headed into the ninth.
Lee had a two-out RBI single in the top of the ninth for the final run of the game. Bender, the Big South Freshman of the Year, took the mound with the tying run at the plate and used five pitches for the final strikeout.
Barefoot, Jones, Mehl and Thomas were named to the all-tournament team.
Regional competition is scheduled for Friday through Monday, June 1-4 with the top 16 overall seeds hosting the opening rounds.
(Campbell media services provided the basis for this report.)
