BUIES CREEK, N.C. -- Coming
off a disappointing loss at NC State on Tuesday the Fighting Camels
will look to get back on the winning side of the table as they face
off against North Carolina A&T this weekend. This is an unusual
set up as Campbell will head to War Memorial Stadium to face off
against the Aggies on Friday and then return back home to the
friendly confines of Taylor Field for a doubleheader on
Saturday.
In
the last outing for the Fighting Camels, Campbell lost a
heartbreaker to NC State on Tuesday night by a score of 9-8 in 11
innings. Campbell was down 8-2 in the top of the eighth inning and
scored three runs in the top of the eighth and ninth inning to tie
the game up at eight apiece heading into the extra frames. Campbell
couldn't push across any runners in the top of the half of the 10th
and 11th inning and it was Andrew Ciencin's single down the left
field like that scored the winning run for the Wolfpack.
Campbell
had been shut down by the starting pitcher for the Wolfpack, Jake
Buchanan. Buchanan only allowed one hit in 5.2 innings but once he
exited the Fighting Camels were able to claw their way back into
the contest. It was the offensive power of Kevin Nelson who powered
home three RBI to lead Campbell back.
With
that midweek non-conference tilt finished it is now onto this
weekend set with North Carolina A&T. The Aggies dropped two of
three contests at the Elon Classic last weekend and haven't been in
action since dropping a 14-0 contest to the host Phoenix in the
final game of the Classic.
A&T
won game one of the tournament as they defeated the Ohio Bobcats by
a score of 6-2. They were led by the efforts of senior George Hines
who went 4-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI as well as
sophomore Xavier Macklin who pinged his first home run of the 2010
campaign. Hines leads all batters for A&T with a .308 batting
average with Macklin right behind him batting .300.
Last
season Campbell swept North Carolina A&T in a four game set,
outscoring the Aggies 56-17 in those contests. North Carolina
A&T would finished the 2009 season with a 20-33 record with a
9-9 record in MEAC conference play. A&T went on a roll in the
MEAC conference tournament eventually losing in the championship
game to Bethune-Cookman 15-9.
The
series will start at War Memorial Stadium on Friday at 3 p.m. The
doubleheader is scheduled to start on Saturday at 1 p.m. from
Taylor Field.
Campbell v. NC A&T Series Notes:
Campbell holds a 17-2 series lead over the Aggies all time... Played each other four times
at the start of the 2009 season... Campbell went 4-0... Outscored the
Aggies 56-17 during the 2009 campaign... Last North Carolina
A&T victory in the series came in Greensboro in the
2008 campaign when they defeated Campbell 6-1... Series dates back
to 1995.