Tyler Halstead comes home on a wild pitch for the Camels.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/Paul Burgett)

BUIES CREEK – No. 14 Campbell dropped the rubber game of its regular-season series with No. 17 Coastal Carolina, 5-3, on Tuesday afternoon.

The Camels fell to 25-7, while Coastal improved to 21-10.

Coastal got to Hunter Loyd early, tagging the Campbell starter for five runs, three of them earned in the second, third, and fourth innings. Loyd struck out five through six innings.

Chad Born put the Chanticleers on the board with a solo home run in the second.

Coastal starter Liam Doyle was perfect his first time through the Campbell order before exiting the game in the fourth.

The Camels had two chances for big innings in the sixth and seventh but stranded five runners in the two frames.

Campbell got on the board in the sixth when Drake Pierson got plunked with the bases loaded. Halstead scored on a wild pitch moments later to cut the lead to 5-2. Jonah Oster flied out to right stranding two in scoring position.

After Trenton Harris scored on a wild pitch in the seventh, three free passes loaded the bases with two outs. Coastal turned to its closer Teddy Sharkey to face Lawson Harrill. Sharkey won the battle getting Harrill swinging on a full count.

The CU offense managed just four hits, but earned eight free passes. Drake Pierson’s bases loaded walk was the only Campbell RBI as Campbell hit just 1-for-11 with runners on base and 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position.

Campbell returns to action this weekend with a Big South Conference road trip to Longwood. First pitch Friday night is slated for 6 p.m., with all three games of the weekend streaming on ESPN+.

(Campbell media services provided the basis for this report)

Aaron Rund tossed three scoreless innings in relief for Campbell.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/Paul Burgett)