BUIES CREEK, N.C. – A five-run fifth and three big outs from
Ty Cummings in the ninth inning helped Campbell knock off West Virginia 8-6 Friday night at Jim Perry Stadium. The win is the Camels' third over a "Power 5" opponent this season.
The win pulls Campbell to 8-9 on the year, while West Virginia drops to 9-8.
Leading by three, the ninth inning got hairy for the Camels in a hurry.
Ryan Chasse began the inning looking to pick up a three-inning save, but after a double, error, and bunt single brought home a run and left two on with nobody out, the Camels turned to Cummings. Cummings proceeded to slam the door with back-to-back swinging strikeouts and a groundout to leave two men in scoring position.
The West Virginia speed seemed problematic early. The Mountaineers entered third in the nation in steals and added four more on the night. They stole three bags as part of a three-run third inning, scoring more runs in that inning than had been scored against
Thomas Harrington all season.
But Harrington managed to do enough to earn the win, limiting the damage to four total runs and allowing his offense time to break out in the fifth inning.
The five-run fifth featured four hits and saw the first seven Campbell batters of the inning to reach safely.
Connor Denning,
Jarrod Belbin,
Drake Pierson and
Ty Babin all drove in runs in the fame.
Belbin also went deep in the seventh to provide an insurance run, a solo shot to right for his first home run of the year.
Harrington earned the win by tossing 6.0 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K. This was the first game of the year he has allowed multiple free passes, issuing one walk and hitting two batters during the contest. Cummings earned the save.
WVU's Noah Short, who was the first of three pitchers to appear in the fifth inning was tagged with the loss.
The Campbell defense was not particularly sharp on the night, committing five errors, a handful caused by the pressure applied by Mountaineer baserunners. Just two of the six WVU errors on the night were earned runs.
Denning and Belbin each tallied two hits on the evening, accounting for half of Campbell's eight total.
These two teams meet again tomorrow at 3 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
