SHELBY, N.C. — The Fighting Camels evened the series with Gardner-Webb with a 10-5 win on Saturday afternoon at Keeter Stadium as senior right-hander Michael Horrell struck out a season-high 10 across 7.0 innings. Horrell held the Bulldogs to two runs while allowing just two walks and two hits.
With the win, Horrell (4-0) earned his Big South-leading fourth victory in conference play. He lowered his opposing batting average in league action to .186, which ranks sixth in the Big South. The Winston-Salem native reached double-digit strikeouts for the second time in his four-year career at Campbell, while also becoming the first Campbell pitcher to record double-digit strikeouts in 2019.
Landry Moore recorded the final out of the ninth on a lineout to second, earning his fourth save this season.
Landon Mitchell (2-4) took the loss, allowing nine earned runs on 12 hits with a walk and eight strikeouts.
Matthew Barefoot hit a three-run home run and had a solo shot for his first multi-home run performance since his redshirt-freshman season when he hit two jacks at Virginia Tech (Mar. 28, 2017). The Dunn native moved his season home run total to seven and RBI total to 28, which both lead the Campbell sticks.
Seniors Luis Gimenez and Tyler Anshaw tallied three hits apiece. Gimenez logged his 13th multi-hit outing, third three-hit performance, with a pair of singles and double, while Anshaw recorded his fifth multi-hit game, third with three hits.
Including Anshaw, Barefoot and Gimenez, six Camels had multiple hits in the win as Collin Wolf, Zach Minnick and AJ Hrica logged a pair of base hits. Cameron Witt had a single and Ty Babin had a pinch-hit double to round out Campbell's 16 hits.
Just like in Game 1, the Fighting Camels posted a six-spot in the top of the second inning. Witt led off the frame and singled on a 3-2 pitch before Collins watched four balls, placing runners on first and second with no outs for Minnick, who attempted a sacrifice bunt on the first pitch he saw. The bunt was perfectly placed down the third-base line, which allowed the senior to reach on an infield single.
Also similar to the series opener, Hrica pushed across the first run of the ballgame, scoring Witt from third on an RBI single. The junior jumped on the first pitch he saw and singled into center field.
That sent the Camels to top of the order and during Barefoot's at-bat, a wild pitch allowed Collins to trot in from third. On the following pitch, Barefoot sent a 1-2 pitch well beyond the left-field fence for a three-run home run, putting the Camels ahead 5-0.
With one out, Gimenez doubled into the left-field alley, eventually advancing to third on a wild pitch. Wolf drove him in on an RBI groundout, pushing across Campbell's sixth run of the inning.
Barefoot ripped the first pitch of the fourth inning over the left-center field fence for his second long ball of the ballgame, padding Campbell's lead to seven, 7-0.
In the bottom of the fifth, Gardner-Webb's first three batters loaded the bases on a hit by pitch, walk and single, eventually scoring its first two runs on a pair of groundouts.
Gimenez picked up his third hit of the game with a one-out single in the top of the sixth. The senior advanced to second on a wild pitch and then moved over to third on Wolf's base hit through the left side. With Anshaw at the plate, Wolf stole second, eventually scoring on Anshaw's two-RBI single up the middle.
Campbell pushed across its tenth and final run of the game in the eighth on Babin's pinch-hit RBI double that scored Wolf from first.
Gardner-Webb cut the deficit to five runs, 10-5, by scoring a pair in the eighth and one in the ninth as the Campbell relievers allowed four walks, four singles and a hit by pitch. Moore came in with the bases loaded and needed just one pitch to deal a lineout to second base for the final out of the ballgame.
The rubber match between the Fighting Camels and Runnin' Bulldogs is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Keeter Stadium. The series finale was originally scheduled for 2 p.m. but has been moved up due to the forecast of scattered showers in the area.
