Camels Squander Early Five-Run Lead; Fall to Charlotte 15-6

BUIES CREEK, N.C. - Campbell jumped out to a 5-0 first inning lead, but could not hold off the Charlotte offense, as the 49ers (2-1) came back to drop the Camels (0-1) 15-6 Friday afternoon at Taylor Field.

Charlotte's Adam Mills overcame a rocky start by striking out 10 Campbell batters in a row from the fourth through the seven innings to earn his first win of the season. The senior tied his career high for strikeouts in a game by finishing with 12 over seven innings of work.
Alex Burt led the Charlotte attack, going 5-6 on the day with a home run, two doubles and 4 RBI. Eight of the nine 49ers in the lineup had at least one hit, totaling up 17 on the day for the 49ers.

Campbell took perhaps its biggest blow in the fourth inning. After a walk, a sacrifice bunt, and two more walks to load the bases, Charlotte's Brad McElroy blasted a 2-0, Blake Herring offering well over the right field wall to extend a then one-run Charlotte lead to 10-5. Charlotte would bat around in the inning, as McElroy finished the day 3-6 with the grand slam, a double and 4 RBI.

Campbell jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, courtesy of some timely hitting and three Charlotte errors. Mike Causey and Todd Matthews both had RBI singles in the inning, as the Camels took advantage of a balk, an errant pick-off attempt by Mills, an errant throw by the catcher and a muffed ground ball by the shortstop to score five runs, only three of which were earned.
Charlotte promptly cut the deficit to one in the second inning. The 49ers sent all nine to the plate for the second time in the game, receiving run scoring doubles from Chris Taylor and Cory Lane. The Niners would take the lead for good in the third inning, as Burt blasted a two-out, two-run homer over the left field fence, giving Charlotte a 6-5 lead.

The Camels could only manage one unearned run in the fourth before Mills found his groove. Charlotte pulled away in the sixth and seventh innings by scoring five runs in the two innings, four of which were unearned. All four Camel errors on the day came in the sixth and seventh, three of which were committed in the seventh inning.

CU also hurt itself in the free pass department. Campbell pitchers issued a total of seven walks and one hit batsman on the day, leading to six 49er runs.

Carlton Floyd and Zach Johnson both went 2-4 on the day to pace the Campbell offense. The hits for Floyd and Johnson were the first of their collegiate careers, as Johnson played in his first collegiate game and Floyd had only three at-bats last season.

In all, five players made their Campbell debuts. Johnson, Causey, Lyerly, Bryan Braswell and Justin Lilly all played their first games for the Orange and Black.

With the loss, the Camels fall to 8-22 in season opening games and 14-16 in home openers in their Division I tenure. The 49ers and Camels finish their two-game series tomorrow at 2:00 at Taylor Field.

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Players Mentioned

#25 Blake Herring: C; 6' 0"; Junior

#28 Bryan Braswell: C; 6' 1"; Freshman

#24 Carlton Floyd: OF/LHP; 5' 11"; Sophomore

#4 Zach Johnson: 2B; 6' 1"; Freshman

#22 Todd Matthews: C; 5' 8"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#25 Blake Herring
: 6' 0"; Junior
: C

#28 Bryan Braswell
: 6' 1"; Freshman
: C

#24 Carlton Floyd
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: OF/LHP

#4 Zach Johnson
: 6' 1"; Freshman
: 2B

#22 Todd Matthews
: 5' 8"; Sophomore
: C