COLUMBUS, Ohio – Campbell put up five runs in the top of the ninth, capped off by a grand slam from Christian Jones that secured a nonconference baseball road win over the Ohio State Buckeyes, 13-8, Wednesday evening at Bill Davis Stadium.
Campbell improved to 27-20 with its 14th road win of the season, which ties for the most by the Camels since 2013. Ohio State drops to 31-16 on the year as CU dealt the Buckeyes just their sixth home loss of the year.
The Buckeyes had topped CU 10-6 on Tuesday.
Camel lefty Phil Simpson (1-1) picked up his first Division I win, as the junior pitcher out of Brunswick Community College tossed five innings with three earned runs on nine hits.
OSU’s Jake Vance (3-2) took the loss, surrendering three earned runs on three hits. The sophomore righty totaled four walks over three innings as the Buckeye starter.
Jones reached base five times on the day with a home run and two walks. He was hit by pitches twice. The senior infielder from Jacksonville, Fla., capped the night off with a bomb to center in top of the ninth for Campbell’s first grand slam of the season.
First baseman Tyler Anshaw finished a home run shy of the cycle to notch his third three-hit performances. Luis Gimenez and Kyle Mehl also logged multi-hit outings for the Camels. Additionally, outfielder Jeff Hahs posted his fourth home run in the last 10 games.
Campbell was hit by eight pitches for the game, as Matthew Barefoot was plunked three times to lead the team. The Camels currently rank second in all of NCAA Division I with 99 hit by pitches as a team this season, while Barefoot is tied for fourth in the category individually.
Campbell got on the board first with a two-run shot from Hahs in the top of the first. After Barefoot was hit the first pitch of the game, Hahs lined a ball over the left field wall to give the Camels an early 2-0 edge.
Ohio State responded with one run in the bottom of the first on an RBI groundout from Tyler Cowles, scoring Dominic Canzone, who led off with a double to the left field corner.
The Camels plated a run in the top of the second to go ahead 3-1. Barefoot grounded a ball deep into the middle of the infield, reaching on a single before Mehl slid safely into home plate on the throw.
Campbell scored again in the fourth on a similar play, as Gimenez reached on an infield single to the second baseman before Mehl came home all the way from second.
CU added three runs to its lead in the top of the fifth. After Jones was hit by a pitch and Zach Minnick blooped a single into right field, Anshaw roped a two-run triple down the right field line to put the Camels up 6-2. Bryce Myers laid down a sacrifice bunt to bring Anshaw home and make it a five-run lead for Campbell.
The Camels took advantage of three hit batters to add a run in the top of the sixth and make it 8-2. Jones was plunked to lead it off before Anshaw moved him to second on a single up the middle. Myers took a pitch to the shoulder to load the bases before Mehl collected an RBI on CU’s sixth hit batter of the game.
The Buckeyes plated their third run of the day on a sacrifice fly to deep center from Dillon Dingler, scoring Cowles who led off the bottom of the sixth with a double to center field.
Ohio State pulled within two in the bottom of the eighth, scoring three runs on two hits and an error. Pinch hitter Malik Jones knocked one in on sharp grounder to first, then Conner Pohl came home on a wild pitch from Bryce Cota. The Buckeyes capped off a three-run frame on a sacrifice fly to left from Bo Coolen.
Campbell put up five runs in the top of the ninth to erase any doubt, highlighted by Jones’ grand slam for his club-leading 13th homer of the season. CU took a 13-6 lead into the bottom of the ninth.
Ohio State sparked a two-out rally with a two-run homer from Pohl to make it 13-8, but the Buckeyes came up short as a groundout to Gimenez ended the game.
Up next, the Camels are set to host their final home series as the Winthrop Eagles visit Buies Creek. The three-game set is scheduled for Friday (tonight) through Sunday, May 11-13 at Jim Perry Stadium.
(Campbell media services provided the basis for this report)
