BUIES CREEK, N.C. –
Campbell (7-31, 2-13 A-Sun) advanced only one runner past second
base against Stetson's (30-9, 13-2 A-Sun) Jake Hitchcock as the
Hatters prevailed in game three of the series 6-0, earning a sweep
of the Camels Saturday afternoon at Taylor Field.
Hitchcock (4-1) relied on
good control and another outstanding defensive performance from his
team in the field, as he did not walk or strikeout a single batter
in throwing nine shut-out innings. Blake Herring (1-7) went six
innings for the Camels in taking the loss, allowing just two-hits
outside of a big Hatter fifth inning.
The Camels managed just six
hits on the afternoon, as Daniel Smith accounted for one-third of
them, going 2-3. Casey Frawley had another solid afternoon going
2-4 with three RBI for the Hatters. Jeremy Cruz, the league's
leading hitter coming into the weekend, added a 3-4 performance to
the Stetson mix.
After only three combined
hits for the two teams in the first four innings, Stetson rallied
for a five-run fifth inning. Aaron Crittenden and Cruz singled and
Mark Rood was hit by a Herring fastball with one out to load the
bases. Back-to-back RBI-singles by Kevin Johnson and Shane Jordan
followed by a two-RBI single by Frawley and a Braedyn Pruitt sac
fly accounted for the 5-0 Hatter lead.
Campbell
threatened in the
eighth getting its first two men on base, the first time in the
game the Camels had two men on at the same time. Hitchcock managed
to keep the shut-out alive by getting Carlton Floyd to roll into a
double play and popping up Smith to get out of the jam.
Despite the sweep, the
Campbell pitching staff took a step forward. In the three games six
different pitchers combined for 17 strikeouts compared to just
three walks, as Herring and reliever Quinn LeSage combined to walk
zero Stetson batters in Saturday's third game.
The Campbell staff shut-out
the Hatters in 20 of the 27 innings played, giving up just 14 runs
on the weekend. It was the big inning that hurt CU, as eight of
those fourteen runs were scored in two innings.
For as good as the Camel
staff was, the Hatters were a tad better, striking out 26 Camel
batters in the three games and walking just two. The Hatters' staff
had great control, as Hitchcock and game two starter Chris Ingoglia
both went for complete games without walking a Campbell
batter.
Frawley highlighted the
Hatter offense in the series going 6-13 with five RBI in the three
games. Mike Causey hit the best of any Camel on the weekend, going
3-10 with an RBI, while Robb Meng was the only player for CU to
register multiple RBIs in the series.
The Campbell schedule doesn't
get any easier, as CU will travel just up the road to face the
second-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels Tuesday at 6:00. Stetson
returns to DeLand to face Bethune-Cookman at 7:00
Tuesday.
