BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Campbell's softball team (20-20, 5-4 Big South) won a close 2-1 game in the series finale against Gardner-Webb (17-21, 4-6 Big South) on Saturday, April 7, at Varsity Field.
Olivia Scarborough (4-2) threw her fourth complete game of the season. She went seven innings and allowed just five hits and one run. The loss was taken by Jessica Childers (4-8). Childers pitched 3.2 innings and struck out five.
The Runnin' Bulldogs started the scoring with a run in the first inning. Savannah Burns drew a two-out walk. McKenzie Morenus moved her all the way to third with her single. Morgan Baker drove in Burns with her single down the left field line.
The Camels picked up the team's first hit of the day on freshman Kerstine Womack's single just over a drawn in infield in the third inning.
CU took the lead in the fourth inning. Junior Sarah Forgacs was hit by a pitch to lead-off the inning. Freshman Stephanie Jones then single to right. Raven Lee then hit a ball to short that was fielded cleanly. Forgacs was called for runner's interference, despite running behind the fielder, to give Lee a single on the play. After a strikeout, freshman Kailey Farmer was able to hit a two-out double down the left field line to plate Jones and pinch runner Camise Patterson on the play.
The CU defense came up with a big pair of caught stealing's to end the fifth inning. Burns was hit by a pitch with one out. She moved to second and then to third on consecutive wild pitches Morenus then walked to put runners on the corners. Kellie Beres was inserted to run for Burns and Taylor Pridgen ran for Morenus. Gardner-Webb then attempted to run a first and third play. The throw from senior Taylor McGee was cut off by second baseman Shaela Churchill. She then flipped to Ericka Nesbitt at second base, who threw to freshman Erica Johnson at first, who threw it back to McGee at the plate to cut down Beres. McGee then threw the ball back to eliminate Pridgen, who was attempting to take second on the play to end the threat and inning.
Farmer made a great diving catch in left field to start the sixth inning for CU to thwart off a potential Bulldog rally before it began.
Scarborough survived an interesting seventh inning. Melinda Dulkowski was hit by a pitch with one out. Meenaghan was then retired on a close play first to move the tying run to second base. Jordyn Arrowood then grounded out to the CU second baseman to end the contest.
Campbell next travels to Raleigh, N.C. to take on North Carolina State for a doubleheader on Wednesday, April 11, starting at 4 p.m.
