LYNCHBURG, Va. – Kyle Mehl's grand slam in the bottom of the second put the Fighting Camels up for good as top-seeded Campbell defeated No. 5 seed Gardner-Webb 8-3 Thursday afternoon in the second round of the 2018 Big South Championship.
Campbell improves to 33-23 and will face the winner between Radford and Liberty at 10 a.m. on Friday, May 25 at the Liberty Baseball Stadium. The game will be streamed live on ESPN3, available online or through the WatchESPN app.
Senior right-hander
Wes Noble (7-6) earned the win with his fifth quality start of the season, as the Lebanon, Ohio native tossed 6.2 frames with nine hits, two runs, two walks and seven strikeouts.
Gardner-Webb's Landon Mitchell (4-5) took the loss, giving up four runs on five hits over the first 2.2 innings.
Campbell posted six extra-base hits on the day, collecting one homer and a season-high five doubles. Mehl (2-for-3, 3 R, 2B, HR, 4 RBI) led the charge with his first home run and third double of the season, while
Christian Jones (2-for-5, 2 2B) roped a couple of a two-baggers for the Camels.
Tyler Anshaw (3-for-5, R, 2B, RBI) and
Matthew Barefoot (1-for-4, 2B, RBI) added one double apiece to round out Campbell's extra-base hitters.
Five Camels recorded multi-hit outings as CU racked up 13 hits overall. Anshaw logged his fourth three-hit performance of the season, while Jones, Mehl,
Jeff Hahs (2-for-4, RBI) and
Ty Babin (2-for-4, RBI recorded two knocks each Thursday afternoon.
Gardner-Webb (30-26) jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, as second baseman Mickey Dugan (2-for-5, R) crossed the plate on an RBI single to left field from third baseman Eric Jones (1-for-5, RBI).
Campbell went up for good on Mehl's grand slam in the bottom of the second. After
Zach Minnick (0-for-3, R) reached on an error by the GWU third baseman,
Luis Gimenez (1-for-3, R) poked a single through the left side to put two runners on.
Bryce Myers (0-for-3, R) was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Mehl, who drove the 2-2 offering from Mitchell off the top of the left field wall, bouncing into the Campbell bullpen to put the Camels ahead 4-1.
Barefoot extended CU's lead to four with an RBI double in the fourth. The Dunn, N.C. native drilled a ball to left center for his 15
th two-bagger of the year, scoring Mehl all the way from first to give Campbell a 5-1 edge over Gardner-Webb.
Both teams traded runs in the seventh inning, as Mason Fox (2-for-5, R) scored on a wild pitch for Gardner-Webb before Babin drove in Anshaw on a single through the right side in the bottom half of the inning.
The Runnin' Bulldogs cut the Campbell lead to 6-3 in the eighth with a double down the left field line from Justin Kunz (2-for-4, RBI) that plated Chris Clary (0-for-3, R).
Campbell scored two runs on three hits in the bottom of the eighth to put the game out of reach. Mehl crushed a leadoff double off the left center field wall, then scored on a single up up the middle from Hahs. Anshaw knocked in the final run of the game with a single through the right side that drove in pinch runner
DJ Gatz from second.
Redshirt senior lefty
Andrew Witczak finished it out for the Camels, picking up a strikeout and forcing a popout before a ground ball fielder's choice ended the game. Jones made the diving stab and glove flip to Gimenez for the final out at second.
Up next, Campbell will face the winner between Liberty and Radford on Friday, May 25 at 10 a.m. inside the Liberty Baseball Stadium. For the most up-to-date information on Campbell baseball, follow @GoCamelsBSB on Twitter.
