BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Winthrop plated five runs in the third inning to claim the series opening victory over Campbell, 5-2, at Amanda Littlejohn Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The two teams were originally scheduled to play two games on Saturday, but the second game of the doubleheader was moved to Sunday due to inclement weather in the area.
Campbell falls to 12-17 on the year with a 2-5 mark in the Big South, while Winthrop improves to 12-10 overall and 3-1 in conference play.
The Camels were the first on the board, scoring a run in the first inning to take a 1-0 lead.
Madison Herring hit a first pitch single to right field in the first at-bat of the day for Campbell. Herring then stole second, advanced to third on a
Rachel McCollum groundout and was brought home via a bunt by
Caroline Smith.
CU doubled the lead to 2-0 in the second inning off a solo home run to center field by
Lizabeth McCurry. The redshirt senior now has eight home runs on the season, which is the second most on the team behind McCollum (12).
In the third, Winthrop took the lead after tacking on five runs to make it 5-2 over the Camels. Morgan Lowers got things started with a triple to left field and was brought home off a single by Blake Wallert on the next play. Ansley Gilreath and Kiley Majette both recorded two-run home runs to bring the inning total up to five runs.
Haley Hutchins entered the game during the third inning, forcing a grounder to end the inning and leave two Eagle runners on base. After giving up a single to the second batter she faced, the junior righty retired seven straight batters to keep the Camels within reach.
The Camels best chance for a comeback came in the seventh inning after
Cassie Wancheck got on base after being hit by a pitch.
Bri Bryant, who pinch ran for Wancheck, advanced to second following a
Hannah Jones groundout. However, that was as far as she would get, as a fly out ended the game.
Majette (7-5) earned the win after pitching a complete game, while only giving up five hits and two runs. She struck out four Campbell batters and faced six above the minimum.
Lexy Head (2-7) was charged with the loss, conceding seven hits and five runs across 2.1 innings pitched for the Fighting Camels. Hutchins pitched the final 4.2 innings in relief, only allowing one hit and striking out three.
The Camels will return to action on Sunday with a doubleheader versus Winthrop at Amanda Littlejohn Stadium, with first pitch slated for 1 p.m. For the latest information about Campbell softball, make sure to follow
@GoCamelsSB on Twitter.
