TROY, Ala. - Third baseman Brian Lipman went 2-for-4 with two RBIs to lead Troy State past Campbell, 5-4, Friday evening at Riddle-Pace Field, keeping the Trojans' Atlantic Sun tournament hopes alive.
Troy State (27-25, 16-15 A-Sun) scored five runs off of six hits and received a gutsy pitching performance from junior Eric Wikstrom. Wikstrom (7-3) went the distance, allowing four runs on nine hits while striking out six to pick up the victory. All five of the Trojans' runs came in the third inning, after falling behind 2-0, early. Troy State pounded out four hits off of Camel starting pitcher Matt Kleweno. The lefthander also walked two batters and made a key throwing error during the inning.
Campbell (20-28, 12-19 A-Sun) started the scoring in the first inning. After second baseman Sal Deanda fouled out to right field, the Camels got infield singles from left fielder Phillip Strickland and shortstop Tom Rispoli. Both runners advanced to second and third on an error and a passed ball by Trojan catcher Wade Miller. After a walk by third baseman Derek Barrows, first baseman Alston Hatch singled in two runs to put the Camels ahead, 2-0.
The Trojans battled back with five runs in the bottom of the third. Troy State received a RBI-single by left fielder Chad Howard, a two-RBI single by Lipman and a RBI-double by first baseman Justin Morgan to put the Trojans ahead, 5-2.
Campbell fought right back with a run in the top of the fourth. Hatch led off the inning with a double to left field. A groundout by right fielder Kyle Ellenz moved Hatch to third base which set the scene for the game's key play. Campbell catcher Chris Wiley drove a 2-2 Wikstrom offering deep to left field. Howard raced back and made a leaping catch at the wall to rob Wiley of a two-run homer. Ellenz tagged up and scored to cut the Trojan lead to 5-3, but Wikstrom escaped the inning with minimal damage.
Howard finished the evening, 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored.
The Camels added a run in the sixth on a RBI-single by Wiley, but that was as close as Campbell would get. Wikstrom shut the Camels down, retiring 10 of the last 11 batters.
Kleweno (3-7) suffered the loss for the Camels, allowing five runs on six hits, while striking out four Trojan batters.
The two teams will square off tomorrow for games two and three of the series. The doubleheader is set for 1 p.m. Saturday has been designated "Senior Day", with the ceremony beginning before the first game. [Box Score]