BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Campbell swept the doubleheader on Sunday to claim the series victory over Winthrop at Amanda Littlejohn Stadium. The Camels won the first game, 2-0, and followed up with a 5-3 victory in the series finale.

With the pair of victories on Sunday, Todd Bradley now has 400 career victories as a head coach. Bradley has 129 career wins as head coach of the Fighting Camels softball program. In addition, he picked up 87 wins at Incarnate Word, 83 at Pfeiffer, 20 at Corban and 81 at Blue Mountain Community College.

Campbell improved to 14-17 overall with a 4-5 mark in conference play, while Winthrop fell to 12-12 and a 3-3 in the Big South. The Camels currently sit in sixth place in the league standings through three conference series. The Camels have now won two of three conference series with 2-1 wins over Gardner-Webb and Winthrop.

Game one: Campbell 2, Winthrop 0

Haley Hutchins (2-3) pitched a complete game shutout to lead the Camels to a 2-0 victory over the Eagles. The junior righty conceded two hits and two walks, while striking out two batters across seven innings in the circle. Hutchins faced two above the minimum and threw just 64 pitches in the victory.

The matchup proved to be a pitcher's duel, with five combined hits between Hutchins and Winthrop starter Sabrina Shroades. The Eagles' starter, who is now 2-3 on the year, fanned out 11 Camel batters across six innings, only giving up three hits and two runs.

CU scored two runs in the opening inning of play to take an early 2-0 lead. Caroline Smith started things off with a two out double to right field to get in scoring position. Megan Mozingo followed up with a one RBI single to score Smith. On the next play, Bri Bryant smacked a single to center field to bring home Mozingo.

The Camels threatened to do more damage in the first, as Bryant advanced to second with a stolen base and third off a wild pitch. However, Shroades notched her second strike of the day to end the inning.

Winthrop recorded two hits on the game, a single in the third and sixth inning. The Eagles' best scoring opportunity came in the fifth, as Madyson Watson advanced to third off a fielding error after reaching base on a walk.

Game two: Campbell 5, Winthrop 3

Rachel McCollum hit a three-run home run in the sixth inning to lift Campbell over Winthrop, 5-3, in the rubber match on Sunday afternoon at Amanda Littlejohn Stadium.
The Camels put up two runs in the fifth inning and three in the sixth to overcome an early 3-0 deficit and earn the series win.

Winthrop plated three runs in the opening inning to take a 3-0 lead over Campbell. The Eagles quickly put two on base with a lead-off walk by Ashley Westbrooks and single by Morgan Lowers. Westbrooks scored off a passed ball two plays later, while Lowers and Keleigh Romine were brought home off a single by Kiley Majette.

In the fifth, Campbell battled back, putting two runs on the board to cut the deficit to two runs at 3-2. The Camels loaded the bases with singles by Christa Hall and Madison Herring and an error by the Eagles' defense allowed McCollum to reach base.

Smith recorded her second hit of the game, a single to right field, to bring home both Hall and Herring. With two outs, Campbell had the bases loaded threatening to do more damage, but a tagout at third base closed out the inning.

With two runners in scoring position, McCollum smacked a three-run home run to left field to put the Camels up 5-3 in the sixth. The Seven Springs, N.C., native's 13th home run of the season also scored Hall and Katie Manring.

Hutchins (3-3) picked up her second win of the day, pitching the final 1.2 innings in relief for the Fighting Camels. Megan Richards started for the Camels, striking out four batters across 5.1 innings pitched.

Majette (7-6) was charged with the loss after giving up 10 hits and five runs during six innings pitched for the Eagles. She struck out one batter for Winthrop on Sunday afternoon.

Up next

The Camels will return to action next weekend in Farmville, Va., in a three-game set versus Longwood. For the latest information on Campbell softball, make sure to follow @GoCamelsSB on Twitter.