BUIES CREEK, N.C. — The Fighting Camels are set to face the Duke Blue Devils on Wednesday, March 20 at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park (DBAP), with first pitch scheduled for 4 p.m.
The game will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra, with live stats being provided via StatBroadcast. Additionally, live audio will be provided through the Campbell Digital Network with Evan Budrovich and Cole Hallum on the call.
In response to over $7,000 worth of bus parts being stolen from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Durham and Orange Counties, All ticket proceeds from Wednesday's game at the DBAP will be donated to aid in replacing their stolen bus parts. All tickets for the game are general admission. Adult tickets be purchased for $9, while youth and senior tickets can be purchased for $7. Fans who cannot attend the game but wish to donate can do so by clicking here.
Campbell (11-8, 3-0 Big South) is coming off a three-game sweep at rival High Point on March 16-18, opening Big South play with a 3-0 record for the second consecutive year. The three-game sweep was the third for Campbell in 2019 and was the second-straight conference-opening three-game sweep for the Camels after they swept Charleston Southern a season ago.
The Camels pieced together 13 extra-base hits at High Point, totaling seven doubles, one triple and five home runs. The five dingers are the most for Campbell in a three-game series this season.
Collin Wolf owned CU's highest slugging percentage (.714) against the Panthers, going 6-for-14 with a double and a home run. The junior transfer from Tacoma Community College put the Camels ahead 4-0 in the first inning of the series finale by launching Campbell's first grand slam of the year. He finished the day with five runs batted in, the most in a single game by a Camel this season.
Luis Gimenez leads the Camels in batting average (.342), hits (26) and doubles (8), and is tied for the team lead in runs batted in (15) and games started (19). The Venezuelan shortstop is one of three Campbell batters to totaled 15 RBI this season as he is joined by Wolf and Spencer Packard. Matthew Barefoot rounds out the top-4 in RBI with 14.
Barefoot, the 2019 Preseason Big South Player of the Year has swiped a Big South-high 12 bases, which also ranks him tied for 21st nationally. With an average of 0.63 stolen bases per game, the redshirt-junior sits at 27th among national leaders.
Campbell backstop Zach Minnick threw out two base runners across CU's four games last week, bringing his season total to seven, which ranks second among Big South catchers. The senior catcher led the league with 22 runners caught stealing a season ago and he has thrown out 63 base runners in his four-year career. His career caught stealing percentage is 34 percent.
As a team, the Camels have stolen 38 bases on 50 attempts, which leads the Big South and is tied for 20th nationally. Campbell's average of 2.00 stolen bases per game also tops the Big South, while coming in tied for 23rd in the nation. Barefoot (12) and Gimenez (8) have stolen 20 of CU's 38 swipes at a combined success rate of 83 percent.
Duke (12-8, 2-4 ACC) fell out of the national rankings on Monday after being swept at home by No. 14 Louisville last weekend. Like the Camels, the Blue Devils own a win over ECU, defeating the Pirates last Wednesday at DBAP, 7-2.
Senior outfielder Kennie Taylor leads the Blue Devils in batting average (.368), runs scored (20), hits (32), doubles (9), runs batted in (19), hit by pitches (5), slugging percentage (.598) and on-base percentage (.439). Taylor is one of three Blue Devils batting above .300 as he is joined by Erikson Nichols (.308) and Rudy Maxwell (.307).
The Camels are scheduled to face freshman right-hander Cooper Stinson, who has made four starts on the mound this season. The rookie has struck out 23 batters across his 17.2 innings and owns a 2.55 earned run average. The Camels are 9-3 against right-handed pitchers this season.
Wednesday's meeting is the 39th matchup between Duke and Campbell. The Blue Devils own the all-time series advantage over the Camels.
Wednesday's contest also features a rematch from the 2018 NCAA Athens Regional, a game in which Duke won, 16-8. Following a 97-minute lightning delay, No. 2 Duke scored 15 unanswered runs over the final three innings to defeat and eliminate the No. 4 Fighting Camels from the NCAA Regional at Foley Field in Athens, Ga.
The Blue Devils, who were shut out by Troy in their first game of the regional, went on to win three-straight games to advance to the Lubbock Super Regional to face the Texas Tech. The Red Raiders eliminated Duke from the NCAA tournament, winning two of three super regional games.
Campbell and Duke met twice during the 2018 regular season. In the first game on March 20, then No. 14 Duke struck out 17 Campbell batters to win 4-0 at Jim Perry Stadium; all four runs scored by the Blue Devils were unearned. Duke completed the season sweep by defeating Campbell at the DBAP on April 4, 11-3. Campbell got on the board first as Luis Gimenez scored on a wild pitch in the top of the first to give Campbell a 1-0 lead. He led the game off with a double to the left field wall before moving to third on a sac bunt from Tyler Anshaw.
The matchup at Duke is Campbell's fifth-straight game against an in-state opponent. With a weekend series versus UNC Asheville and a midweek game at North Carolina, the Fighting Camels will face five different in-state foes over the span of the two weeks (Mar. 13-26). The Camels own a 4-2 record against in-state opposition this season.
Following the midweek contest at Duke, the Fighting Camels will host UNC Asheville in their conference home opener. The three-game set is scheduled for Friday through Saturday, March 22-24 at Jim Perry Stadium.
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