BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Three different home run hitters lifted Campbell softball to a 13-5 win against Winthrop Sunday afternoon inside Amanda Littlejohn Stadium. With the victory, the Fighting Camels complete the weekend sweep against the Eagles.
Campbell (23-27) cranked out eight RBIs off its home runs during Sunday's win. Rachel McCollum is now tied for the team lead after hitting her 12th home run of the season, a three-run home run in the bottom of the third.
Lizabeth McCurry hit a pinch-hit grand slam in the bottom of the fourth, extending the lead to eight runs, 13-5. Also on the home run sheet is Bailey Bjorson, as she connected on her second home run of the year, a solo shot off the scoreboard in left field.
The Orange and Black opened the game with three runs in the bottom of the second inning. Bjorson led off with her solo home run to left field, giving the Camels a 1-0 lead. With the speedy Cierra Harris on first, Taesha DuBoise smacked a double to left field, plating Harris. McCollum followed suit with a RBI double to right centerfield, putting Campbell ahead 3-0.
Winthrop (14-38) answered back in the top of the fifth, as it took a 5-3 lead. Paige Haley began the scoring with a RBI single into right field. Three batters later, with bases loaded, Blake Wallert took the 10th pitch of her at-bat and hit a grand slam beyond the left field wall, giving the Eagles their two-run advantage.
The Camels fought back in the bottom half of the third inning, scoring six runs to jump ahead 9-5. Bjorson recorded her second RBI of the afternoon, a single to left centerfield, which scored Caroline Smith. A pair of fielding errors by Winthrop kept the inning alive for Campbell and Taesha DuBoise took full advantage of the situation. With the bases loaded, the junior transfer connected on a two-RBI to the left field wall. Three pitches later, McCollum put Campbell ahead by four with her three-run home run to left field.
One swing of the bat gave the Fighting Camels its eight run lead in the fourth inning. Pinch-hitting for Harris, McCurry was called to action with the bases loaded and no outs. With a 1-1 count, the Chattanooga State transfer crushed the next pitch she saw over the wall in left field. The grand slam was Campbell's second of the week, and second on the season.
Katie Baker earned the win in the circle, going 2 1/3 innings, allowing zero hits and striking out two of the eight batters she faced. McCollum finished the day 3-for-4 with 4 RBIs, DuBoise went 2-for-3 with three RBIs, scoring two runs of her own. Bjorson went a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs and two RBIS.
Winthrop's Keleigh Romine took the loss in 2/3 innings of work, allowing six runs on four hits. Blake Wallert went 1-for-2, scoring once and hitting four RBIs.
Campbell returns to action at North Carolina, Wednesday April 27 at 5 p.m. Afterwards, the Fighting Camels are off until May 6 against Radford at 6 p.m. inside Amanda Littlejohn Stadium.
