SPARTANBURG, S.C.- USC Upstate pounded out 16 hits and played
flawless defense to hand Campbell a 13-2 loss in A-Sun baseball
action, Friday evening at Cleveland S. Harley Park. Campbell snapped its three-game A-Sun
winning streak and fell to 6-8 and 4-3 in the A-Sun, while the
Spartans improved to 6-10 with a 4-3 league mark as well.
Kyle Bowley, a senior from Apopka, Fla., picked up his third win of
the season striking out seven and allowing just one run over eight
strong innings. Campbell's
Justin Lilly matched Bowley's strikeout mark fanning seven, but
took the loss after giving up ten runs in 5.2 innings of work. Bowley moves to 3-1 on the
season, while Lilly drops to 1-1.
The Spartans saw five different hitters pick up multi-hit games
headed by corner outfielders Keith Bisgounis and Blake Green. Bisgounis paced the USC Upstate
notching three hits with two RBI and two runs scored, while Green
grabbed three of his own knocking in a team high three runs.
Freshman outfielder Graham Fronk anchored the Camels' offense
matching his season high in hits with three. The last time Fronk slapped three hits
in a game was against Dayton on Feb. 23. In addition, Bryan Braswell and Ryan
Hamme each collected extra-base hits for Campbell.
USC Upstate jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first partially
due to a strong wind blowing to right field. Campbell's Fronk was unable to glove
the ball off of the bat of Andrew Runion after racing all the way
from center field. The two
out triple set the stage for an RBI single by Phillip Morgan which
flew past a diving Ellis Lowe at second base.
Fundamental baseball allowed the Spartans to tack on another run in
the second after Bisgounis doubled and was moved to third on a
sacrifice bunt off the bat of Blake Green. USC Upstate shortstop collected his
fifth RBI of the season by hitting a chopper to the shortstop to
give the Spartans a 2-0 lead after two innings.
USC Upstate capped off its third consecutive inning of scoring with
five runs in the third, capitalizing on a pair of Campbell
errors. With runners on
first and second with one out, an error by Campbell shortstop Zach
Johnson allowed Runion to score from second. After Jimmy Tanner drew a walk,
back-to-back singles by Bisgounis and Blake Green and an overthrown
pickoff attempt at third base by the Camels' Stephen Parsons
allowed the Spartans to extend their advantage to 7-0.
The Spartans put the game out of reach posting three run innings in
the sixth and eighth.
Highlighting the scoring output was the 6-through-9 holes who all
had RBI hits in the innings. Tanner and Bisgounis knocked in runs
in the sixth, while Green and Eric Guillen drove in runs in the
eighth.
Campbell scored single runs in the seventh and ninth, but the late
surge wasn't enough. Hamme,
a junior from Wilmington, extended his hitting streak to seven
games with a leadoff triple in the seventh and scored a run in that
inning after being driven in by Mike Causey. Braswell stroked his first double of
the season in the ninth driving in Hamme who walked earlier in the
inning.
Campbell will continue its series with USC Upstate with a
doubleheader tomorrow (Mar. 15). The first pitch is slated for 11
a.m.