BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Erica Johnson hit two home runs in game one, including a walk-off homer, and Katie Baker pitched a shutout in game two to lead Campbell to a doubleheader sweep of in-state rival UNC Wilmington on Tuesday at Amanda Littlejohn Stadium.
In their final home games of the 2014 season, the Camels (27-24) took game one by a final score of 4-2 in 9 innings and shutout UNCW (17-29) 4-0 to claim game two.
In game one, junior Erica Johnson went 2-4 with two home runs and four RBIs while junior Kerstine Womack went a perfect 4-4 with a double. Courtney Roberts went the distance as she pitched all nine innings, allowing two runs, none earned, on four hits with three walks and five strikeouts. The sophomore right-hander moved her record to 9-8 on the season.
Third baseman Nella Chamblee led UNCW in game one with a 2-3 performance, including a double and a walk. Casey Rowland was charged with the loss (9-12) as she pitched 8.1 innings, allowing four runs, three earned, on nine hits, two walks and 17 punchouts.
Action in game one picked up when UNCW's Morgan Ayers led off the top of third inning with a single to the left side. Lauren Moore followed up with a bloop bunt-single to third, advancing Ayers to second. However, a throwing error by the Camels would allow Ayers to score and Moore to advance to second. Moore would go on to steal third and a sac-fly from Brittany Gamby pushed the Sehawks lead to 2-0.
The Camels would answer in the bottom half of the inning as senior Jordan Clarke reached and advanced to second on an error by the UNCW outfield to start the inning. Johnson, a junior from Angier, N.C., connected on a 2-1 offering and sent it over the left field fence for her first career home run, tying the ball game and two-all.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, with the game still tied at two, Campbell loaded the bases with no outs. Womack, a junior from Broadway, N.C., led-off with a single up the middle, sophomore Courtney Klingler reached due to catcher's interference, and freshman Milly Martinet was intentionally walked to load the bases.
Seahawks pitcher Casey Rowland would settle down in the bottom of the sixth as she would strike out the next two Camels she faced. She forced the third to pop-out to the shortstop, escaping the jam with no damage done.
Campbell would threaten again in the bottom of the eighth as Womack led-off with a single up the middle and stole second base. Klingler would then single and advance to second on the throw as Womack was gunned-out at the plate to keep the game knotted at two. Martinet then drew her second walk of the game to put two on base for CU. With two outs, senior Shaela Churchill hit a deep single to centerfield, but the UNCW defense proved tough again as Klingler was thrown out at home plate for the final out of the inning.
In the bottom of the ninth inning with one out, senior Jordan Clark singled to left field to start the Camel rally. After junior Maggie Christopher pinch-ran for Clark, Johnson would take the first pitch of the at bat deep over the center field fence for her second home run of the day, and of her career, to give the Camels the 4-2 win.
Baker, a freshman right-hander from Hickory, N.C., pitched her fourth shutout of the season by going all seven innings and allowing only four hits, with six K's and no walks. The win moved her record to 12-9 on the season. Martinet led CU offense by going 2-3 with a double. Klingler went 1-3 with a solo home run and Womack added her fifth hit of the day as she went 1-3 with one run batted in.
Peyton Jordan was charged with loss for UNCW, dropping her record to 7-15. She allowed three runs, two earned, on six hits and two walks, with one strikeout. UNCW had four batters each go 1-3 in game two of the doubleheader.
Campbell scored score a run in the first inning on two hits and a fielding error by the UNCW pitcher. Klinger blasted a solo shot to right field to lead off the bottom of the third, giving CU a 2-0 lead.
The Camels tacked on their third and final run in the fourth inning when Womack singled to center and drove-in pinch-runner Anderson from second base.
After Tuesday's games, the Camels take a 9-day break for final exams before closing the regular season with a 3-game set May 2-3 at Charleston Southern. The Big South Championship tournament begins May 8 at Conway, S.C.
