MT. PLEASANT, S.C. – Campbell softball split heavy deficits on day one of the Wyndham Garden Cougar Classic hosted by College of Charleston at Patriots Point field.
In game one, Campbell scored a program-high 29 runs as it defeated South Carolina State, 29-1, in five innings. The second game, Campbell fell in five innings to College of Charleston, 12-3.
Game 1: Campbell 29, South Carolina State 1
The highest scoring output in program history happened as Campbell used 29 runs on 26 hits to solidify its first win of the 2016 campaign. With the 28-run margin of victory, it is also the largest margin of victory in program history, breaking the 25-run margin set in 2001 (25-0 vs. Maryland Eastern Shore) and tied in 2009 (26-1 vs. North Carolina Central).
In the first inning, Campbell plated three runs courtesy of a Lizabeth McCurry double, which scored two, and Jessica Anderson's single that scored McCurry. Campbell failed to score in the second inning before the floodgates opened in the top of the third inning.
The Fighting Camels recorded three home runs in the top of the third. After a trio of runs was scored in the inning, Jessica Anderson hit a solo home run to continue the scoring. Six batters later, Amber Schisler hit a two-run home run as Taesha DuBoise scored from second base. McCurry, who hit a sac fly in her first at-bat of the inning, connected on a three-run home run to push the Campbell lead to 14-1.
Schisler connected on her second home run of the day as she hit a three-run blast, that plated Bailey Bjorson and Melissa Tullar. Chandler Patterson added the fifth home run of the contest for Campbell as she pushed the lead to 22 runs with her three-run home run, scoring Anderson and Abby Perryman.
The top of the fifth inning saw the Orange and Black score six more runs en route to the 29-1 rout of South Carolina State. Schisler earned the win in the circle as she went 3.0 innings, yielding three hits while striking out four batters. Caroline Smith pitched two innings only giving up one hit during that span. Kierra Cromer received the loss for the Bulldogs, going 4.0 innings in the circle.
Anderson finished 4-for-5 with five RBIs while McCurry went 2-for-2 and six RBIs. Schisler recorded five RBIs in her 3-for-4 performance and Patterson knocked in four runs while going 2-for-4 at the dish.
Game 2: Campbell 3, College of Charleston 12
Campbell scored twice in the first inning, but College of Charleston answered with nine runs of its own to take an early 9-2 lead on its way to a 12-3 victory over the Fighting Camels.
McCurry plated two runs in her first at-bat of the contest, hitting a double to right centerfield, scoring Herring and McCollum. The Cougars answered back with an RBI single by Rebecca Mueller in the bottom half of the inning. Two batters later, Valerie Cassell hit a grand slam to give her side the 5-2 lead over Campbell. Four more runs were added by the home side including Mueller's two RBI single to cap off the nine run inning. College of Charleston added to its lead with three runs in the bottom half of the second inning.
Campbell scored its third run in the top of the fourth inning as Patterson connected on a solo home run, her second of the year. Katie Baker took the loss in the outing in 0.2 innings of work, while Sydney Shipley was awarded the victory for College of Charleston.
The Saturday schedule has been adjusted as South Carolina State withdrew from its remaining contests on the weekend. Campbell will now face UMass Lowell Saturday at 10 a.m. and Detroit Mercy at 12 p.m.
