BUIES CREEK, N.C. –
Belmont (14-9, 4-2 A-Sun) rode three-run homers from Ben Petsch and
Brandon McCall to a 9-4 Atlantic Sun victory over Campbell (5-21,
1-5 A-Sun) Saturday afternoon at Taylor Field.
The Bruins also used a strong
performance from Carlo Testa (3-0) as the sophomore picked up the
win by striking out nine in seven strong innings. Chris
England (1-5) did not make it out of the first inning, giving
up six earned runs, as he took the loss for
Campbell.
Brady Manifold added three
RBI's and Wilson Tucker upped his average to .422 on the season
with a 3-4 outing for Belmont. Mike Causey and Robb Meng
both went 3-4 to pace the Camels, with Causey adding two RBIs. Daniel
Smith also added two hits to the Camel cause, reaching base in
all but one plate appearance.
Belmont scored all they would need in
the first with two timely hits. Petsch belted his fourth home run
of the year, a three-run shot, to put the Bruins up 3-0. Five
batters later with the bases loaded, Manifold lined a two-out
double to right, clearing the bases and putting Belmont up
6-0.
Campbell made a dent in the Belmont
lead with two runs in the second. Brandon Scott led-off the
inning with a single and stole second. Two batters later, Causey
belted a triple to right for the first Camel run. Two pitches
later, a Testa wild pitch brought Causey in to make it 6-2
Belmont.
The Camels continued to cut
into the BU lead with another run in the fourth. Meng shot a
one-out triple to right field and Causey recorded his second RBI of
the day with a single through the left side, to make it 6-3
Bruins.
Belmont negated the work the Camels
did in the second through sixth innings with one swing of the bat
in the seventh. Tucker and Petsch started the inning with back-to
back singles to chase Blake Herring off the mound.
Trevor Smith came in and got
the next two men out, but McCall roped his 1-2 offering over the
left field fence to push Belmont's lead back to six at 9-3.
Campbell would add one run in the seventh on a Carlton
Floyd groundout for the final 9-4 margin.
Tucker punished Camel
pitching all weekend, as the senior went a 7-11 with six runs
scored on the weekend. Scott knocked out four hits on the weekend
and Causey delivered four RBIs in the three games.
Both the Bruins and Camels
return to action Tuesday as Belmont travels to Kentucky to face
Murray State. Campbell remains at home to host ACC opponent Duke.
First pitch is slated for 7:00 at Taylor Field.
