BOONE, N.C. – No. 24 Campbell hit five home runs and held off a ninth inning rally to take game one over App State 16-15. The Fighting Camels have now homered 10 times in their last two games and scored 46 runs across the last three.
The win helps Campbell improve to 11-2, and CU has now gone over a year without losing on a Friday. The Camels last Friday loss came 378 days ago to Maryland early in the 2022 season. Campbell is the only team in the nation without a Friday loss in that time frame.
There was no shortage of offense from either side today, with a combined 31 total runs and 36 total hits on the day. The Mountaineers out-hit Campbell 20-16 on the night, the most hits Campbell has allowed in any game since 2018, and in a win since at least 2006.
Campbell got on the board with back-to-back home runs in the second courtesy of
Logan Jordan and
Grant Knipp, Campbell's second straight game with back-to-back jacks. Jordan tagged his second home run of the day in the fourth with a two-run shot to left.
The Camels seemingly blew the game open with a six-run sixth inning, coming via three run home runs from both
Drake Pierson and
Lawson Harrill to put Campbell up 11-4 at the time.
The Camels added two in both the seventh and eighth, and one final and major insurance run in the ninth.
Every run was needed as the Mountaineers kept chipping away, scoring three in each the seventh and eighth to enter the ninth trailing by five. The hosts plated four in the ninth and had the tying run at second base before
Cade Boxrucker picked up the strikeout to end it.
All nine Campbell starter had a hit, with five having multi-hit games. Jordan led the way with three hits, two home runs and a double, and four RBI. Harrill reached a team-high four times with a hit and three walks.
Cade Kuehler started on the bump and earned his third win of the season. The righty tossed 5.0 innings, allowing five runs, three earned, and striking out six.
Aaron Rund worked three innings of relief and was tagged with six runs, and Boxrucker surrendered four in his lone inning.
The Camels and 'Neers square off again tomorrow at 3 p.m. for game two of the series. That one will be streamed on ESPN+.
