Camels top Old Dominion, 10-8

by Dunn Area Sports Staff | Mar 12, 2020 | Campbell, News & Features

The Camels put a tarp on the mound during a rain delay Wednesday night.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/Paul Burgett)

BUIES CREEK — Waldy Arias and Collin Wolf each had three-hit outings as Campbell totaled 15 hits against the Old Dominion Monarchs, coming away with a 10-8 victory on Wednesday night at Jim Perry Stadium.

The win improved Campbell’s record to 7-9, halting a two-game losing skid, while Old Dominion dropped its second-straight game to fall to 12-4.

Campbell’s first three batters in the lineup – Arias, Wolf and Zach Williams – combined to go 8-for-15 with three doubles, six runs batted in and five runs scored between them.

Arias earned his second three-hit outing of 2020 with two singles and a double while Wolf’s third three-hit performance of the season featured two doubles and a single. Williams went 2-for-4 with two base hits and two RBI. Both Marcus Skundrich and Grant Harris had two-hit outings as they both collected one double.

Koby Collins had Campbell’s sixth extra-base hit, ripping a two-run triple in CU’s five-run sixth inning, while Matthew Christian and Connor Denning each had one single.

Rookie right-handed pitcher Zach Neto made his first start, facing the minimum in the first and second innings. He dealt two groundouts and a popout in the first inning before striking out the side in the second inning.

Redshirt-junior Bryce Cota made his first appearance since being sidelined with Tommy John Surgery midway through the 2019 season. He threw a scoreless third inning, picking up a looking strikeout for the first out before a bases-loaded double play ended the inning.

After Neto and Cota, the Camels utilized eight pitchers over the final six innings. Senior Landry Moore (1-2) earned the win as the last pitcher to appear before the Camels took their final lead in the sixth. Rookie Fred Sisco collected the save, his first as a Camel, retiring the side in order in the top of the ninth.

Old Dominion had nine different pitchers take the mound as Michael Parmentier (2-1) was saddled with the loss. He allowed two of Campbell’s five runs in the sixth inning.

Arias led off the bottom of the first with a single into left field before Wolf followed with an RBI double down the line, giving the Camels an early 1-0 lead.

Old Dominion took a 2-1 lead in the top of the fourth on a two-out, two-run double by Brock Gagliardi. John VanderPloeg replaced Jonathan Tyler with runners on first and second base, and he got out of the jam by striking out the first batter he faced. VanderPloeg also tossed the fifth inning, collecting two more strikeouts.

Campbell responded with four runs on five hits in the bottom of the fourth as Denning got the frame started with a single up the middle. On the next pitch, Skundrich ripped a double into left-center field, scoring Denning from first base.

Harris moved Skundrich to third base on a sacrifice bunt before Arias plated Skundrich with an RBI single into shallow right field, giving Campbell back the lead, 3-2. Wolf kept the inning going with a double, his second of the day, placing two Camels in scoring position for Williams who lined a base hit into center field, scoring both Arias and Wolf.

In the top of the sixth, ODU scored one run on a fielding error and two runs by way of two bases-loaded walks, tying the score at five runs apiece.

Campbell pieced together five runs on six hits, a walk and a hit by pitch in the bottom of the sixth to retake the lead, 10-5. The inning was highlighted by a two-run triple by Collins, his first three-bagger as a Camel.

In the next half inning, the top of the seventh, Old Dominion pushed across three runs to pull back within two, 10-8, but Jack Yusko tossed a scoreless eighth inning with two strikeouts before Sisco got the final three outs in the ninth to secure Campbell’s sixth win of 2020.

This weekend, the Camels will open Big South Conference play at Charleston Southern. The series opener is set for Friday at 6 p.m.

(Campbell media services provided the basis for this report)