BUIES CREEK, N.C. — Campbell University baseball suffered a 9-3 defeat to the Charleston Southern Buccaneers in Game 2 of the weekend Big South Conference series Saturday afternoon at Jim Perry Stadium.
Despite striking out a season-high 10 batters, Seth Johnson (2-3) was saddled with the loss, allowing six earned runs on eight hits and two walks. The Campbell pitching staff combined to strike out 13 batters but allowed a season-high 14 hits.
Charleston Southern's freshman reliever RJ Petit (3-0) earned the win by not allowing a run over the final 4.2 innings; he struck out three and gave up two hits.
Collin Wolf collected his team-leading 17th multi-hit game by going 2-for-2 with a pair of singles, a hit by pitch and a walk. Spencer Packard also had a pair of base hits, good for his 13th multi-hit game this season. Luis Gimenez rounded out Campbell's five hits with a single.
CSU jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the third. The first two batters – Josh Litchfield and Javin Martin – reached on a walk and a single, respectively. Litchfield scored on an RBI single before Martin came around on a fielder's choice.
Campbell cut CSU's advantage in half, 2-1, in the bottom of the fourth on Cameron Witt's bases-loaded walk that scored Wolf from third.
The Buccaneers went up by three, 4-1, in the top of the fifth on Ryan Stoudemire's two-run double down the right-field line, but the Camels responded with two runs of their own in the bottom half on Packard's RBI single and Collin's sacrifice fly.
Johnson returned to pitch the top of the sixth with a one-run deficit, 4-3, and collected his 10th strikeout by getting the leadoff batter looking; however, he allowed a single and then issued a walk, ending his day on the mound.
Pitching coach Chris Marx called Logan Heintzman in from the bullpen with runners on first and second and one gone. The redshirt-sophomore issued consecutive walks to the first two batters he faced, which pushed across CSU's fifth run of the ballgame.
Heintzman worked back and got the next batter swinging, but one batter later, with the bases loaded, Stoudemire singled into left field to score two more.
The Buccaneers added a pair of insurance runs in the top of the eighth on a wild pitch and an RBI double, going ahead by six, 9-3.
Sunday's rubber match between the Fighting Camels and Buccaneers is set for Sunday, May 5 at 1 p.m. at Jim Perry Stadium.
