DeLAND, Fla.- The Camels bounced back from a 14-0 opening round
loss to Lipscomb with an 11-3 victory over the Mercer Bears, riding
a multiple home run game from Brandon Scott to earn its first
Atlantic Sun Tournament game triumph since 2000, Thursday afternoon
at Melching Field at Conrad Park. Mercer, who hasn't been winless in an
A-Sun Tournament since 1997, finished its season with a 24-33
record.
Scott, a senior from Robersonville, N.C., kicked the game off in
thrilling fashion sending Mercer starter David Harden's second
pitch of the game over the left field wall. Scott, who finished the day going
4-for-5 with three RBI and three runs scored, capped off his day
with a two run blast in the seventh inning. Brian Gana was the last Camel to have
a multi-homer game as he did it against High Point on April 8.
Justin Lilly (6-4) gave Campbell a quality outing winning his sixth
game of the season allowing two earned runs in 7 2/3 innings. Lilly, a senior from Raleigh,
N.C., struck out four batters and became the first Camel to win six
games in a season since Mike Ange completed the feat in 2005. Ange finished the season with a
6-1 record.
Campbell (21-36) swiped four bags, including a pair from Ryan
Hamme, which moved its season total to 104. Campbell needs one base to overtake
the 2001 team for most in a single season.
Five Camel hitters finished the day with multi-hit performances,
which includes Scott's four hit outing. Ellis Lowe, Hamme and Stephen Parsons
grabbed two hits, while Graham Fronk collected three. Parsons drove in three runs as
well.
Harden (5-3) was strapped with the loss for Mercer as he gave up
five runs, all of which were earned, in 2 1/3 innings of work. Harden walked three batters and
struck out just one.
Leading the way for the Bears was Tyler McCarty and Billy
Shaughnessy. McCarty
notched three hits while Shaughnessy collected two. Shaughnessy also drove in a run.
Campbell jumped out to an early lead and applied a steady dose of
offense to ensure its 21st win of the season. After Scott led the game off
with a homer and Lowe and Hamme singled in the first, a double
steal and a sacrifice fly plated three runners in the first to give
the Camels a 3-0 lead.
Two consecutive walks set the stage for a two run third as Causey
and Carlton Floyd were plated on back-to-back singles by Parsons
and Zach Johnson. Campbell
tacked on three more runs in the fourth thanks to Causey's second
sac fly of the game and a two RBI single to right field by Parsons
to take a decisive 8-0 lead.
After posting a run in the sixth, Scott put the game out of reach
with his second home run of the game. Fronk reached base with a one-out
single and was driven in on Scott's team-leading sixth long ball of
the season to cap Campbell's offensive day with 11 runs.
Mercer compounded a Campbell fielding error in the eighth with
three doubles to chase Lilly from the contest. McCarty, Mike Armstrong and John
Dortch smoked extra base hits in an inning where the Bears' scored
three runs.
The 22 run turn-around from the 14-0 game one loss marks the
largest turn-around in A-Sun Tournament history. In 2001, Troy lost 18-1 to UCF but
bounced back to drop the Stetson Hatters by a score of 5-2, which
was a 20 run turn around.
Stetson also had a 20 run turn-around in 1987 as the Hatters lost
18-0 to Georgia Southern but defeated Hardin-Simmons 10-8.
Campbell will play at 3 p.m. tomorrow (May 23) at Melching Field
against either Belmont, Gardner-Webb or Stetson, depending on the
outcomes of the final two games of today.
