NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — Campbell cranked six home runs on the way to a commanding 18-2 Big South Conference baseball victory over Charleston Southern on Saturday afternoon at
CSU Ballpark.
Campbell’s six homers tied for the third-most in a single game by any Division I team this season. Redshirt-senior outfielder Bryce Myers (2-for-4, 6 RBIs) led the way with two bombs, while
Tyler Anshaw (2-for-7, 2 RBIs), Christian Jones (1-for-4, RBI), Zach Minnick (3-for-3, 2 RBIs) and Kevin Barron (3-for-5, RBI) had one dinger apiece.
The Camels set season-highs in at-bats (48), runs (18), hits (21), RBI (18), doubles (5) and home runs (6) in Saturday’s series-clinching win. Seven Campbell players logged multi-hit
outings, highlighted by Luis Gimenez (3-for-7, RBI), Minnick and Barron who each had three hits for the game.
Junior right-hander Michael Horrell (3-1) picked up the win, tossing five scoreless innings. The Thomasville native held CSU to four hits while fanning two batters.
Ryan Stoudemire (0-4) took the loss, allowing six earned runs on eight hits with no walks or strikeouts.
Campbell (9-10, 2-0 Big South) got off to a hot start, putting up three runs in the top of the first. Gimenez had a leadoff double off the left field wall, then Anshaw followed with a two-run blast to center field for his first homer as a Camel. Two batters later, Jones went opposite field with a solo shot to right. The Jacksonville, Fla., native leads Campbell and ranks second in the Big South with five home runs this season.
Barron made the score 4-0 with a leadoff opposite field home run in the top of the second. It was the first home run of the season for the first baseman from Horsham, Pa.
CU notched two runs in the top of the third as Jeff Hahs (1-for-3) scored on Minnick’s home run to left center. Hahs got on with a double down the right field line for his first extra-base hit
of the year. The Camels put up three more in the top of the fifth, courtesy of an RBI-double from Barron and a two-run homer by Myers to make it a 9-0 lead.
Campbell posted a four-spot in the top of the sixth, starting with a bases-loaded walk for Joe Zirolli (2-for-4, RBI) and a bases-loaded hit by pitch for Barron. With the bases still loaded, Myers hit a sacrifice fly to right to score Minnick. On the next at-bat, Gimenez roped his second double of the game to left center to bring Barron home for a 13-0 advantage.
Charleston Southern (6-14, 0-2 Big South) scored its two runs in the bottom of the seventh with a solo home run from Derek Horton and an RBI single by Mike Sconzo. The Camels
removed any doubt with five runs in the top of the ninth with a two-run single by Barron and a three-run jack from Myers.
With the win, Campbell has clinched the conference series win against the Buccaneers. Since 2012, the Camels have claimed six of seven Big South opening series. Campbell and CSU are scheduled to conclude the series on Sunday at 2 p.m.
(Campbell media services provided the basis for this report)
