ASHEVILLE — Senior Allan Winans produced his fifth straight quality start as Campbell downed UNC Asheville 10-1 in Big South Conference baseball Thursday at Greenwood Baseball Field.
Winans (3-3) allowed just one run on three hits over seven innings of work, totaling nine strikeouts and three walks for the game. The right-hander from Bakersfield, Calif. struck out the side twice in his longest outing of the season.
Greg Gasparro (1-4) took the loss for the Bulldogs, giving up four earned runs over five and two-thirds innings.
Shortstop Luis Gimenez (3-for-5, 3 RBIs) led the Camels offensively. Bryce Myers drove in three runs, while Matthew Barefoot (2-for-4, RBI) roped his first triple of the season. Jeff Hahs (3-for-3, 2 RBIs) and Christian Jones (2-for-5, RBI) had RBI doubles for Campbell.
Sophomore right-handers Wyatt Tyson and Jack Yusko each made one-inning relief appearances for the Camels. Tyson used nine pitches to retire the side in the bottom of the eighth. Yusko finished out the game with a hitless frame.
Campbell (14-12, 7-0 Big South) got on the board first with three runs in the top of the second. Myers drove Zach Minnick in on a fielder’s choice for his first RBI of the day, then Gimenez knocked a two-run single to left to score Myers and Hahs.
In the top of the fifth, Jones sent an RBI single through the middle as Tyler Anshaw crossed the plate to make it 4-0. Jones and Hahs each posted RBI doubles in the top of the seventh. Hahs scored on a wild pitch to make it a 7-0 advantage for the Camels.
UNC Asheville (6-18, 3-4 Big South) scored its only run in the bottom of the seventh on a wild pitch from Winans. Bulldog left fielder Joe Zayatz got on base with a walk, advanced to second on a balk, reached third on a wild pitch and scored on another throw in the dirt.
The Camels kept their foot on the gas in the top of the ninth, plating three more runs on a two-run double from Myers and an RBI ground out from Gimenez.
Campbell is off to its best start in conference play in program history. CU began Big South play 6-0 in its first year when rejoining the conference in 2012.
The Camels will look to clinch their third straight Big South series Friday (March 30) in game two against the Bulldogs. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. at Greenwood Baseball Field.
(Campbell media services provided the basis for this story)
