BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Sophomore shortstop Ericka Nesbitt (Salisbury, N.C.) completed a doubleheader sweep with a grand slam to right in the bottom of the fifth to lift Campbell, 11-3, against Gardner-Webb in game two. The Camels notched a 6-5 victory in the first contest on Friday evening at Amanda Littlejohn Stadium.
Five home runs were the driving force for Campbell (16-8, 2-0 Big South) as freshman catcher Courtney Klingler (Alvin, Texas) hit two round trippers, including a three-run shot to cap a five-run fifth in game one. Junior designated player Raven Lee (Battleboro, N.C.) tied Klingler for the team lead with seven homers, while junior Shaela Churchill (Winterville, N.C.) and Nesbitt notched their first home run of the year against Gardner-Webb (3-12, 0-2 Big South).
The game-one victory was picked up by freshman Courtney Roberts (Simpsonville, S.C.), who improved to 7-3 and registered three strikeouts in her seventh complete-game of the campaign. The loss was charged to Ashley Rhyne (1-2), who tossed the final two innings and fanned two.
Senior Brittany Arnn (Daville, Va.) fanned three hitters in 4.1 innings of work to notch her third win during game two, while sophomore Julia Callicutt (Asheboro, N.C.) picked up her second save of the year. Falling to 1-5 was Jessica Childers with two strikeouts in logging just over four frames.
During the doubleheader, the Campbell offense came through with 19 hits led by sophomore third baseman Brittany Bruce (Lumberton, N.C.) and Klingler with three base knocks each. Bruce was a perfect 3-for-3 in game one with an RBI single.
Trailing 3-0 in the fifth of game one, junior designated player Olivia Scarborough (Buies Creek, N.C.) chased starter Gutierrez with a single through the left side to start a rally that pushed across five runs on five hits. The hitting barrage continued with an RBI double to right by Lee followed by a single from sophomore second baseman Maggie Christopher (Awendaw, S.C.).
The game-winning run in game one was scored on a wild pitch in the sixth by senior right fielder Sarah Forgacs (Cary, N.C.), who registered her fourth triple of the game to start the inning. It proved to be the game-winner when Morgan Baker, who went 3-for-3 with five RBI, connected on a two-run blast in the seventh.
Gardner-Webb lead-off hitter Samantha Meenaghan also tallied three base hits.
During game two, Campbell struck for three runs on four hits as Forgacs and Scarborough drove in runs, but further damage was limited by starter Childers, who retired the side with the bases loaded.
The Bulldogs were brought to life in the second as three defensive miscues for Campbell led to three runs to knot the contest at three.
Connecting on the go-ahead home run was Churchill in the fourth, 4-3. Klingler led off the fifth with a round tripper and Lee drilled three-run blast to provide Campbell with a decisive 7-3 advantage.
After a Scarborough walk, the heroics for Nesbitt were set up by a freshman pinch hitter Haley Haselden (Aynor, S.C.) with her first collegiate hit and a base knock by Churhill. The Salisbury, N.C., native connected on memorable home run to right for the grand slam.
Six different Bulldogs registered base hits during game two as Melinda Dulkowski and Meenaghan each registered one RBI.
The finale of the series between the Camels and Bulldogs is on Saturday afternoon at noon. Live stats and free audio can be accessed on the softball schedule page of GoCamels.com.
