BUIES CREEK — Dusty Baker went 2-for-3 with a double, scored two runs and had two RBIs to lead East Carolina to a 7-2 baseball victory over Campbell on Wednesday night at Jim Perry Stadium.
Pirate lefty Alec Burleson (1-0) earned the win, pitching the first three scoreless innings with two strikeouts.
Redshirt senior Allan Winans (0-1) was credited with the loss in his season debut for Campbell (0-4). The right-hander gave up three earned runs on four hits over two innings in his first start of the year.
Baker, Seth Caddell (3-for-5, two doubles) and Dwanya Williams-Sutton (2-for-4, one triple) each posted multi-hit games and scored two runs apiece for East Carolina. Brady Lloyd (1-for-2) finished with two RBIs and one run scored.
Kyle Mehl went 2-for-4 with two RBI, while Ty Babin (2-for-4) logged his second-straight multi-hit performance. Bryce Myers (1-for-2) got on base three times with a single and two walks.
East Carolina (4-0) never trailed after taking a 3-0 lead in the top of the second. The Pirates scored two in the fourth, one in the fifth and one in the sixth to widen their lead to 7-0.
Right-handed relievers Brandon Jenkins, Tyson Messer and Jack Yusko held the Pirates scoreless with six strikeouts over the final three innings, but the Camel offense could not overcome the deficit.
The Camels tallied two runs in the eighth as Mehl singled to right field to score Christian Jones and Joe Zirolli. Trailing 7-2, Campbell loaded the bases with two outs, but a groundout to third ended the inning. CU went down in order in the ninth.
Wednesday night’s game featured the second-largest crowd in Jim Perry Stadium history as 1,428 spectators attended. Last year’s Campbell-ECU matchup holds the facility attendance record at 1,563.
Up next, the Camels will host their home tournament, the Campbell Invitational. CU welcomes Yale, Western Michigan and Miami (OH) for the weekend event, set for Friday through Sunday, Feb. 23-25.
(Campbell media services provided the basis for this report)
Junior southpaw Julian Blackburn pitches for Campbell against East Carolina on Wednesday evening. (Dunn Area Sports Photo/Al Myatt)
