BUIES CREEK, N.C. – The Camels defeated #17 UCSB 7-3 Sunday afternoon at Jim Perry Stadium to clinch the opening series win. Freshman Cooper Clark earned the win in his first collegiate action.
This is the second year in a row, and third in the past four, that Campbell has won their opening series.
Campbell (2-1) used smart baserunning to rally together runs in the fourth and fifth innings after the Gauchos (1-2) took a 3-0 lead in the top of the fourth.
UCSB scored one in the second off an RBI single from Sebring, a solo home run from Darby in the third, and an RBI single by Nunez in the fourth.
Reed Stallman drew a walk to begin the bottom of the fourth inning, then moved to second after Grant Knipp singled to left field. Stallman then advanced to third on a wild pitch.
Dylan Koontz grounded to first base to drive home Stallman, and Knipp advanced to third after an error from the Gauchos infield. Knipp came around when the next batter, Braeden O'Shaughnessy, grounded out to short.
With the bases now empty, Chandler Riley singled through the right side, then stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Peyton Bonds doubled to deep left field to push Riley across.
Clark recorded a three-up three-down inning with two strikeouts and a groundout in the fifth. He recorded six strikeouts in his first collegiate start, allowing only one walk and two earned runs.
The Camels added three more in the fifth inning after Lawson Harrill started it with a walk. Stallman came up and doubled to left center, and Harrill scored from first after the catcher dropped the ball on his attempted tag at the plate.
Knipp was walked next, and Koontz singled to right field to drive in the two runs after they advanced a base on a previous wild pitch.
Stallman added one more insurance run in the seventh with a solo home run to right center field. The ball traveled 396 feet after leaving the bat at 104 mph.
Jackson Roberts and Packy Bradley-Cooney combined for four scoreless innings out of the bullpen. Roberts entered the game with two runners in the sixth inning and worked his way out of a bases-loaded jam to keep the Gauchos off the board.
Bradley-Cooney pitched three scoreless innings in the save effort. He faced the minimum, striking out five of his nine batters.
UP NEXT
Campbell welcomes #11 East Carolina to Jim Perry Stadium on Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. The game will be streamed on FloSports.
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