BUIES CREEK, N.C.- Brandon Scott hit a two run walk-off home run in
game one and three Campbell pitchers didn't allow an earned run in
game two as the Camels swept a doubleheader series over the Dayton
Flyers Saturday at Taylor Field.
Campbell (2-0, 0-0 A-Sun) took the first game 7-5 and capped off
its day with a 6-1 victory in the second.
Jared Lehman (1-0) was credited with the win in the first game
after giving up one run on two hits and a strikeout in one inning
of work, while Dayton's Lucas Farden (0-1) suffered the loss. Campbell freshman left-hander
Daniel Gardo picked up a win in relief in game two tossing 3.2
innings of scoreless baseball, while the Flyers' Chris Beesley took
the loss notching three strikeouts over four innings of work.
Junior transfer Brian Gana paced the Camels' offense in game one
going 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI complimented by freshman
outfielder Graham Fronk who also had three hits and an RBI in the
contest. Dayton saw
Marshall MacDonald and Ryan Nevill collect three hits apiece in
game one.
Freshman Ellis Lowe was Campbell's offensive catalyst in game two
stroking three hits with two RBI in his collegiate debut, while
Zach Johnson and Stephen Parson each had a pair of hits. Jake Hoover went 3-for-4 with an
RBI for the Flyers.
It
didn't take long for the Camels to get on the board in 2008. After Scott was hit by a pitch
and Carlton Floyd drew a walk in the bottom of the first Gana hit
an opposite field blast off the outfield wall to plate two runners
giving the Camels an early 2-1 lead.
Dayton (0-2, 0-0 A-10) answered in the third and fifth innings with
a run in each but Campbell quickly countered when Gana scored on a
wild pitch in the fourth and Ryan Hamme stroked a two out RBI
double in the bottom of the fifth to leave Campbell with a one run
lead.
Sophomore left-hander Hunter Ford neutralized the Flyers' offensive
attack throwing a strong 4.2 innings in relief of Campbell's
starter Justin Lilly. The
native of Wilmington, N.C. allowed only one earned run on three
hits and struck out six without giving up a walk.
Dayton put the pressure on in the top of the ninth after MacDonald
hit a one out two run double to give the Flyers a one run lead
heading into the bottom of the ninth.
Hits by Parsons and Fronk would set the stage for a heroic two run
walk off homer by Scott to give first-year head coach Greg Goff his
first victory as a Fighting Camel. Scott Campbell's only four year
senior and A-Sun Preseason All Conference selection lifted a
ball in the left-center gap for his first dinger of the year. The last time a Camel hit a
walk-off homerun was May 8, 2001 when former Campbell head coach
Chris Wiley beat Duke with a game-ending grand slam.
It was Scott who set the stage as the starting
pitcher in game two hurling 4.1 innings of shutout ball before
handing it over to Gardo who continued to throw scoreless innings
through the eighth. Freshman
pitcher Wes Edwards did the cleanup work closing out game two
allowing just one unearned run in one inning of work while tallying
a strikeout.
Campbell used a big sixth inning to separate themselves from Dayton
posting four runs in the frame. After Hamme was hit by yet another
pitch and Gana doubled, sophomore shortstop Zach Johnson slapped an
RBI single into right field. Parsons would go onto collect an RBI
single in the inning in addition to Lowe's RBI single that plated
Johnson. Parsons capped of
Campbell's largest single inning output of the day by scoring from
third base on an error by Dayton's first baseman MacDonald.
The last time Campbell opened its
season with two wins was in 2002 when the Camels upended Delaware
State 19-1 and 9-8. That same year the Camels ended up posting a
22-29 overall record.
Campbell will travel to High Point, N.C. on Tuesday, Feb. 26 to
take on the High Point Panthers. The first pitch is slated for 4
p.m.