FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — Campbell University baseball dropped a pair of contests to Army and Air Force on the final day of the Armed Forces Invitational on Sunday afternoon at Segra Stadium, suffering a 5-4 setback to the Black Knights before an 8-5 loss to the Falcons.
With the pair of losses, Campbell fell to 5-6 on the year, while Army improved to 3-7, and Air Force moved to 3-9.
GAME ONE – Army 5, Campbell 4
In a game that featured four ties and four lead changes, Army kept Campbell off the scoreboard in the final four innings and took a 5-4 lead in the seventh to defeat the Camels by the same score.
Army reliever Ben DeLaubell (1-0) earned his first collegiate win, tossing three scoreless frames while allowing just two hits and one walk; he did not strike out a batter. Will Hart collected the save, conceding just one hit over the final 1.1 innings of the game.
Landry Moore (0-2) was responsible for the two runs that gave Army the lead in the seventh, suffering his second loss of the season; he allowed two hits and one walk.
Zach Adams made his first start since picking up a win over nationally-ranked ECU on Feb. 19 and went 4.1 innings against Army, recording three strikeouts. He also allowed three runs (two earned) on four walks and three hits.
Rookie righty Fred Sisco tossed 2.2 scoreless innings, issuing no walks and no hits with three strikeouts. He struck out the two batters he faced in the seventh to stop the threat before sitting the Black Knights down in order in both the eighth and ninth innings.
Spencer Packard went 2-for-4 and scored three of Campbell's four runs in the setback. The multi-hit game was his second of the weekend and third of the season.
Cruz Aranda, Matthew Christian, Grant Harris, Zach Williams and Collin Wolf had one hit each, while Aranda and Christian collected one double each, rounding out Campbell's seven hits.
In the bottom of the first, Packard was hit by the first pitch from Army starter Patrick Melampy. Campbell's next two batters flew out, but Matthew Christian lined a double down the right-field line, bringing Packard around to score for an early 1-0 lead.
Army tied the score at one run apiece in the next half-inning after a single and walk placed runners on first base and second base with one away. Adams committed a balk, moving both runners into scoring position before an RBI groundout scored the runner from third base.
With a runner on first base and two away in the top of the third, Army's Andrew Walden singled to left field paired but an error by the Campbell left fielder Lawson Harrill allowed the runner on first to score and move Walden to third. Adams got the next batter swinging to keep Army's lead at 2-1.
In the bottom of the third, Packard singled into right field with one away, stole second, and then moved to third on a passed ball. Arias walked to put runners on the corners for Wolf, who laid a squeeze bunt down the first-base line to score Packard and tie the score at two runs apiece.
Senior right-handed pitcher Jack Yusko relieved Adams in the top of the fifth with one away after Adams placed runners on first base and second base with a pair of walks. Campbell backstop Marcus Skundrich threw out a runner trying to steal third, but a two-out, RBI double down the left-field line flipped the lead back to Army, 3-2.
Much like the third, Packard got the fifth inning started with a one-out single into center field before Arias was hit by a pitch. The duo executed a successful double steal before a wild pitch brought Packard in, tying the score again at 3-3.
Wolf walked and Williams was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Harris, who drew a five-pitch walk to push Wolf across, earning Campbell a 4-3 lead.
Army scored two runs in the top of the seventh on a bases-loaded walk and a sacrifice fly to take a 5-4 advantage. Sisco relieved Wyatt Tyson with runners on the corners and one away and struck out the two batters he faced to keep the deficit at one run.
Campbell nearly tied the game again in the bottom of the seventh. With Arias on second base and Wolf on first base, Williams singled into left field, but Arias was thrown out at the plate for the second out; a popout ended the inning, stranding a pair of Camels in scoring position.
Aranda ripped his double in the eighth with two away but was left stranded, and Wolf had a one-out single in the ninth, but he was also left on base, as Campbell suffered its fifth loss of the year.
GAME TWO – Air Force 8, Campbell 5
Campbell led Air Force 5-1 after the sixth inning, but the Falcons scored seven unanswered runs across the seventh and eighth innings to pull away with an 8-5 victory over Campbell in the Armed Forces Invitational finale.
In his third start of the season, Logan Heintzman went six innings, tossing five scoreless frames before Air Force scored an unearned run in the sixth. The redshirt junior did not walk a batter while striking out three and allowing five hits.
Three Campbell relievers – Cole Hart, John VanderPloeg and Jonathan Tyler – tossed the next 2.2 innings, allowing a combined seven runs and seven walks. Thomas Coggburn went the final 1.1 frames, not allowing a walk or a run while striking out one batter.
Tyler (0-1) was tagged with the loss, giving up Campbell's lead in the seventh, while Air Force's Nathan Price (1-2) earned the win. Price threw the final 3.2 innings and did not allow a run while striking out two and walking two.
Both Zach Williams and Matthew Christian had multi-hit outings against the Falcons, with Williams going a perfect 3-for-3 and Christian having a 2-for-4 showing. Williams also drove in two runs while Christian added one RBI.
Campbell's seven hits were rounded out by one hit each from Cruz Aranda and Ryan Parquette, both singles. The Campbell bats left 15 runners on base while Air Force just left six runners on base.
With two outs in the bottom of the second and Christian on third base, Zach Neto reached on a fielding error by the right fielder, allowing Christian to score the first run of the game.
Neither side scored over the next few innings until Christian delivered a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the fifth to plate Williams and give Campbell a 2-0 lead.
Air Force scored its first run of the day in the top of the sixth, cutting Campbell's advantage in half, 2-1. Falcon lead-off batter Ashton Easley led off the frame with a single to right field. He stole second and advanced to third on an error before an RBI groundout scored him.
In the bottom half of the sixth, Parquette and Neto reached on a pair of hit by pitches to lead off the frame before Spencer Packard drew a one-out walk, bringing Collin Wolf to the plate with the bases loaded. Wolf also reached on a walk to score Parquette, pushing across CU's third run of the game.
One batter later, Williams ripped a two-run double into left field to score Neto and Packard, pushing the Camel lead to four, 5-1.
Heintzman reached 100 pitches in the sixth and did not appear in the seventh as he was relieved by Hart; however, Hart issued two walks to the two batters he faced, and he was relieved by VanderPloeg. A couple of wild pitches scored two runs for Air Force before a two-run double tied the score at five runs apiece.
With Tyler on the mound, Air Force loaded the bases again in the top of the eighth on a couple of walks and an error before Easley cleared the bases with a triple to straightaway center field, giving Air Force its final lead of the game, 8-5.
Up Next for the Camels
The Fighting Camels will travel to the Durham Bulls Athletic Park on Wednesday, Mar. 4, to face the nationally-ranked Duke Blue Devils in Durham. The first pitch between the in-state rivals is set for 4 p.m. at the DBAP.
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