BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Dusty Baker went 2-for-3 with a double, two runs and two RBI to lead East Carolina to a 7-2 victory over the Fighting Camels Wednesday night at Jim Perry Stadium.
Pirate lefty Alec Burleson (1-0) earned the win, pitching the first three innings scoreless with two strikeouts.
Redshirt senior
Allan Winans (0-1) was credited with the loss in his season debut for Campbell (0-4). The right-hander gave up three earned runs on four hits over 2.0 innings in his first start of the year.
Baker, Seth Caddell (3-for-5, two doubles) and Dwanya Williams-Sutton (2-for-4, one triple) each posted multi-hit games and scored two runs apiece for East Carolina. Brady Lloyd (1-for-2) finished with two RBI and one run scored.
Kyle Mehl went 2-for-4 with two RBI, while
Ty Babin (2-for-4) logged his second-straight multi-hit performance.
Bryce Myers (1-for-2) got on base three times with a single and two walks.
East Carolina (4-0) never trailed after taking a 3-0 lead in the top of the second. The Pirates scored two in the fourth, one in the fifth and one in the sixth to widen their lead, 7-0.
Right-handed relievers
Brandon Jenkins,
Tyson Messer and
Jack Yusko held the Pirates scoreless with six strikeouts over the final three innings, but the Camel offense could not overcome the deficit.
The Camels tallied two runs in the bottom of the eighth, as Mehl singled to right field to score
Christian Jones and
Joe Zirolli. Trailing 7-2, Campbell loaded the bases with two outs, but a groundout to third ended the inning. CU went down in order in the ninth to seal the game.
Wednesday night's game featured the second-largest crowd in Jim Perry Stadium history as 1,428 spectators attended. Last year's Campbell-ECU matchup holds the facility attendance record at 1,563.
Up next, the Camels will host their home tournament, the Campbell Invitational. CU welcomes Yale, Western Michigan and Miami (OH) for the weekend event, set for Friday through Sunday, Feb. 23-25 at Jim Perry Stadium.