SPARTANBURG, S.C. – No. 14 Campbell dropped game two and the series with a 6-5 loss in 10 innings Friday at USC Upstate. The loss forces a winner-take-all game for the Big South regular season championship tomorrow at 2 p.m.
 
The loss drops Campbell to 40-13, 21-5, while Upstate improves to 36-19, 21-5 in the Big South. The loss is Campbell's first loss on a Friday since Feb. 25, 2022, having won 26 consecutive games on Fridays. It also marks Campbell's first Big South series loss since 2021.
 
The Spartans scored two in the first on just one hit after a pair of batters reached on a walk and fielder's choice that didn't result in an out. Those two set up a run-scoring wild pitch on a swinging strike three, and a double to score another. Upstate stretched the lead to three with a solo homer from Daniel Gernon to lead off the third.
 
Campbell's offense finally broke through in the fifth, scoring three times with the help of a pair of Upstate errors. Grant Knipp's sac bunt attempt turned into a two-base error, and an RBI single by Chandler Riley ended up scoring a second run on a misplay in right. Bryce Arnold tied the game with a sac fly in the frame as well.
 
Grant Knipp gave Campbell its first lead of the day with a solo shot to lead off the seventh, his 11^th of the year. Bryce Arnold added another with an RBI single later in the frame to put Campbell up 5-3.
 
Hunter Loyd pitched six strong and left in line for the win. Loyd pitched his final four innings scoreless and didn't allow a hit after the second inning. He finished with a final line of 6.0 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 6 K.
 
After Loyd exited, Upstate cut the lead in half with a run in the home half of the seventh, and added one more on a sac fly in the eighth to even things at 5-5 going to the ninth. Upstate was positioned to walk it off in the ninth, but Aaron Rund escaped a bases loaded jam to force extras.
 
Upstate's Adam Grob lead off the bottom of the 10^th with a single, and took second and third on a pair of wild pitches. David Pereira's single up the middle brought him in for the walk-off winner.
 
Max Weller, Grant Knipp and Chandler Riley all had two hits on the day as the Camels out-hit the Spartans for the second straight day.
 
Giving up free bases plagued the Camels, committing three errors, issuing seven walks, and four wild pitches.
 
Campbell did set a pair of program records on the day. Jarrod Belbin was hit by a pitch in the first inning, the 134^th for Campbell this season, surpassing the previous high of 133 set in 2011. With the fourth run of the day, Campbell scored its 524^th run of the year, surpassing last year's record high of 523.
 
The Fighting Camels and Spartans square off in the regular season finale winner-take-all tomorrow at 2 p.m. That game will be streamed on ESPN+.