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Michael Horrell had 10 strikeouts for Campbell in a 5-1 win over Western Michigan on Saturday. (Bennett Scarborough Photo/Scarborough Photography)
BUIES CREEK — Junior right-hander Michael Horrell struck out 10 batters and walked none as Campbell topped Western Michigan 5-1 in baseball on Saturday at Jim Perry Stadium.
A native of Thomasville, Horrell (1-0) tossed seven scoreless innings, allowing just four hits. His 10 strikeouts set a new career high and were the most for a Campbell pitcher since Nick Thayer fanned 10 against Liberty on Apr. 15, 2016.
Bronco righty Nic Laio (0-1) took the loss, giving up two runs on five hits over five and one-third innings of work.
Harnett Central graduate Tyson Messer notched his first save of the season. The junior right-hander entered in the top of the eighth with Campbell holding a 2-1 lead, pitching the final two hitless innings for the Camels.
Senior infielder Christian Jones finished 2-for-3 with a double to lead the Campbell offense. Ty Babin (1-for-4) and Kyle Mehl (1-for-4) drove in two runs apiece, while Kevin Barron collected one RBI.
Campbell (2-4) took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first as Babin’s bunt single scored Matthew Barefoot. Babin posted his second RBI on a deep groundout to the second baseman, bringing Tyler Anshaw home from third and giving Campbell a 2-0 advantage.
Western Michigan (1-4) scored its only run of the game on a sacrifice fly to center field by Conner Henderson in the top of the eighth. The Camels responded with three runs of their own in the bottom of the eighth, courtesy of an RBI-double from Barron and a two-out, two-RBI single from Mehl.
The Camels look to wrap up a perfect weekend today (Sunday, Feb. 25) against the Miami RedHawks in the final game of the Campbell Invitational. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Jim Perry Stadium.
(Campbell media services provided the basis for this report)