BUIES CREEK – No. 14 Campbell wraps up the regular season and plays for the Big South regular season title this week at USC Upstate. The Camels own a two-game lead over the Spartans and need just one win on the weekend to claim the outright Big South regular season championship.
A win would give Campbell its fifth straight regular season title, adding to the longest championship streak in program history.
Game Times/Probable Starters
Thursday May 18 – 5 p.m. – ESPN+
Campbell:
Cade Kuehler – Jr. – RHP
USC Upstate: Reese Dutton – R-Jr. – RHP
Friday May 19 – 5 p.m. – ESPN+
Campbell:
Hunter Loyd – Sr. – RHP
USC Upstate: TBD
Saturday May 20 – 2 p.m. – ESPN+
Campbell: TBD
USC Upstate: Mathieu Curtis – Fr. – RHP
Series History
The Fighting Camels are 13-12 all-time against the Spartans and have had their number of late. Campbell has won the last 10 meetings between the two going back to Mar. 2021. That stretch includes a pair of wins at the Big South tournament and two regular season series sweeps.
Know Your Opponent
USC Upstate enters the weekend with a 34-19, 19-5 mark on the year, and sits at No. 96 in RPI. They're coming off a midweek loss at Clemson, following a series win last weekend over Charleston Southern. The Spartans have dropped one league series, losing twice at UNC Asheville. Upstate remains in the hunt for the league title, needing to sweep Campbell this weekend to claim the crown.
Friday night starter Reese Dutton anchors the pitching staff. The righty is 9-3 with a 3.32 ERA. His nine wins put him among the nation's leaders, tied for eighth in the country. Dutton leads the Big South in both innings and strikeouts, and is third in ERA and opponent batting average.
USC Upstate is led by fourth-year head coach Mike McGuire.
Last Time Out
Campbell outlasted No. 15 ECU for a wild 14-13 win at Clark-LeClair Stadium. The lead changed four times over the final five innings, with both teams trading blows with big innings. The Camels ultimately entered the ninth down by two, but strung together four straight baserunners to lead off the inning and score three runs to win it.
Jackson Roberts slammed the door in the ninth for the win.
Jarrod Belbin went 3-4 with 3 runs and 3 RBI.
Lawson Harrill hit a massive three-run home run, and
Grant Knipp drove in three as well to help power the offense.
The win capped the season sweep over ECU and marked the first time in program history Campbell has beat ECU three times in a single season.
In The Polls
D1Baseball – 14
NCBWA – 9
Baseball America – 11
USA Today – 14
Perfect Game – 16
Keep Up With The Camels
Follow @GoCamelsBSB on social media throughout the season for the latest updates and team content.
