NORFOLK, VA. - Campbell scored 14 runs off 18 hits to down Norfolk
State 14-9 Tuesday night in non-conference baseball action at Marty
L. Miller Field.
Campbell (26-23) jumped ahead in the first inning as Chris Bangi
continued his streak of reaching safe in every game this season as
the senior slapped a single to right field. Bangi later scored on
an error by NSU third baseman Chris Joyce.
Norfolk State (19-24-1) answered with a run in the bottom half of
the frame on John Lynch's RBI single.
A trio of doubles by Zach Johnson, Kevin Nelson and Bangi pushed
the Camels to a 3-1 advantage after two.
The lead was extended in the third as Johnson lifted a home run to
left field that scored Alex Aycoth. The round tripper was the
eighth on the year for Johnson and marked the first dinger to be
hit by a visiting team all year at Marty L. Miller Field.
Norfolk State pulled closer as Lynch sent a sacrifice fly to left
field that scored Chris Warren and Brandon Hairston slammed a
two-run homer to right field to bring the Spartans to within a run
at 5-4 in the third.
However, consecutive RBI doubles by Ellis Lowe and Alan Denman
extended the Campbell lead to 7-4 before Aycoth sent a sacrifice
fly to push the lead to 8-4 in the top of the 4th.
The fifth NSU run was brought across by Drew Suttmiller as the
senior sent an RBI double down the left field line to bring around
Sammy Serafine to score.
Hits kept coming for the Camels as Bangi collected his third hit
and his third RBI on the evening to push Campbell to a 10-5
advantage. Lowe followed with his nation-leading 29th double on
the year to tie the school single season record for two-baggers.
Aycoth followed once again with a sacrifice fly.
Blake Boyce's two-run single pushed the Camel margin to a 14-6 in
the eighth.
Jonathan Lopez, who entered the game in the start of the fifth,
pitched three innings of scoreless relief while allowing just three
hits to earn the victory in relief and improve his record to 3-0 on
the season.
In the eighth NSU was able to get to a trio of runs following a two
RBI single through the right side from Chris Joyce and an RBI
triple to left field from Lynch to pull to a 14-9 score.
Another milestone was reached in the ninth as Aycoth stole second
base -- the 117th theft for the Camels in 2010 -- and tied the
single season team record set in 2009.
Both Hampton Roads products saw action as Boyce (Virginia Beach,
Va. / First Colonial HS) finished the evening going 2-for-4 with
two RBI and Ryan Mattes (Virginia Beach, Va. / Cox HS) pitched the
eighth inning.
For Campbell the offense was evenly distributed as Bangi, Lowe,
Denman, Boyce and Kevin Nelson all registered multiple hits and
multiple RBI.
The loss for Norfolk State was charged to Chase Davenport (4-4) who
lasted four innings while giving up eight runs (seven earned) off
of ten hits.
Campbell will head to Nashville to face conference rival Belmont in
a three game conference set starting on Friday. The series will
feature a single game at 7:00 p.m. (CDT) on Friday and
a doubleheader to follow on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. All three games
will be played on the campus of Lipscomb University, due to
scheduling conflicts at Shelby Park.