SPARTANBURG, S.C. — USC Upstate scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth inning to hand the Campbell Fighting Camels an 8-7 loss on Saturday night at Harley Park.
Seniors Tyler Anshaw and Luis Gimenez hit home runs in the early innings, both going yard almost exactly a year from their previous long balls. Anshaw last hit a home run on April 21, 2018, at Longwood, while Gimenez' last dinger came on April 22, 2018, also at Longwood.
Anshaw also collected a single and Gimenez added a double as they both went 2-for-4, good for their eighth and 16th multi-hit games this season, respectively. Additionally, both Spencer Packard and Matthew Barefoot went 2-for-5 as Packard had a pair of singles for his 12th multi-hit game, while Barefoot had a single and double for his 16th multi-hit outing.
Koby Collins, Grant Harris and AJ Hrica rounded out Campbell's 11 hits. Collins had a double, his seventh of the season. Gimenez' double moved his season total to 15, which leads the Big South.
USC Upstate's top reliever Will Wheeler earned the win, tossing the final 1.2 innings and allowing no runs with three strikeouts.
Michael Horrell, who made his second relief appearance of 2019, suffered just his second loss this season, dropping to 6-2 overall. He pitched the final four innings and allowed two earned runs on four hits and a walk; he struck out three.
Horrell relieved starter Seth Johnson in the fifth inning. Johnson issued three walks and gave up eight hits on six earned runs. The junior struck out four.
In the top of the first, Barefoot singled through the left side for Campbell's first hit of the ballgame. Two batters later, Gimenez launched a 0-2 pitch over the left-field wall to put the Camels ahead by two early.
The Camels added three more runs in the top of the second to take a 5-0 lead. Anshaw led off the inning with a home run over the right-field fence. Collins followed suit with a double before Hrica singled, placing two Camels in scoring position for Barefoot. Collins scored on a wild pitch before Barefoot scored Hrica from third with a one-out double over the left fielder's head.
In the bottom half of the second, USC Upstate scored two on a two-out, two-run single, trimming Campbell's lead to three, 5-2. An RBI groundout and a two-run single tied the ballgame at five in the bottom of the fourth before an RBI double earned USC Upstate its first lead, 6-5.
The Camels tied the game at six in the top of the sixth. Wolf reached on a fielder's choice and then stole second base; he scored on Anshaw's RBI single through the right side. Upstate retook the lead, 7-6, in the bottom half of the inning on an RBI groundout.
Gimenez doubled into shallow center field with one away in the top of the eighth. He scored one batter later as Packard drove him in on an RBI single up the middle. That forced USC Upstate to go to Wheeler who hit Collin Wolf on just the fifth pitch he threw.
Collins came to plate and after falling behind 0-2, worked the count full and eventually drew a walk, loading the bases for Marcus Skundrich; however, Skundrich went down looking, stranding three Camels on base.
In the home half of the eighth, Upstate's Andres Kim doubled with one gone. A pinch runner took his place, and the runner later scored on the next batter's RBI single up the middle. Horrell ended the inning with a strikeout, sending Campbell to the top of the ninth with a one-run deficit, 8-7.
In the final frame, Hrica drew a leadoff walk on four-straight balls. With Barefoot at the plate, Hrica was thrown out trying to steal second before Barefoot flied out to right field. Down to Campbell's final out, Harris singled and Gimenez walked to the keep Campbell's hopes alive, but Packard went down on strikes for the final out of the ballgame.
With the loss, Campbell suffered its fourth conference defeat, falling to 13-4 in league play and 25-14 overall. Upstate's win moved the Spartans to 17-21 overall and 5-12 in the Big South.
Up next, the Fighting Camels will conclude their five-game road stretch by traveling to Wilmington Wednesday, April 24 to take on UNCW. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Following the midweek match-up in Wilmington, Campbell has an eight-day break from competition before resuming play on May 3 against Charleston Southern at Jim Perry Stadium.
