BUIES CREEK, N.C. – The Campbell Fighting Camels defeated Valparaiso 13-4 to clinch the series, and head coach Justin Haire recorded his 300th win at Campbell Saturday afternoon at Jim Perry Stadium.
Haire is in his 10th season leading the Camels. Last year, he became the winningest coach in Campbell Baseball history. He has led the Camels to five NCAA Regionals appearances and seven NCAA Tournament wins. 13 Camels have been selected in the MLB draft, and 18 have signed professional contracts during his tenure.
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The No. 21 Camels (14-4) got out to a fast start, with the first seven batters reaching safely. They scored six runs in the opening frame, with an RBI double from Lawson Harrill, an RBI triple by Dalen Thompson, an RBI single from Reed Stallman and a Charlie Meglio sac fly.
The Beacons (7-10) scored their first run in the third inning, a solo home run from Alex Ryan.
Grant Knipp responded in the fourth with an RBI triple to score Chandler Riley.
Valpo's Ryan hit his second home run of the day in the fifth inning. It was a two-run shot to make the score 7-3 in favor of the Camels.
Starter Cooper Clark went five innings for the Camels and earned his second win this year (2-0). He allowed three runs on just five hits and recorded five strikeouts.
Harrill answered again for the Camels in the bottom half of the inning with a home run of his own to push the lead to five.
Ethan Snyder came on in relief of Clark and pitched a scoreless sixth inning. He pitched to one batter in the seventh before being replaced by Simon Bargo, who would go on to record the three-inning save.
The Beacons scored one more in the eighth inning by way of a sacrifice fly to left field.
The Camels scored five in the bottom half of the frame to put the game away. Meglio took the first pitch of the inning deep to left center for his third home run of the year.
Knipp followed that with a double down the left field line to score Riley. He finished going 2-4 at the plate with a double, triple, one hit-by-pitch and two RBI. Meglio and Harrill recorded two hits and two RBI in addition to Knipp.
A bases-loaded walk to Max Weller scored Knipp, then two more scored on a fielder's choice hit by Dylan Koontz. Payton Howard scored on the play, then Harrill followed him to the plate after a throwing error by the shortstop.
In the top of the ninth Bargo walked the first two batters, but then he retired the following three with two strikeouts and a fly out to complete his first save of the season.
UP NEXT
The Camels and Beacons finish the series with their game tomorrow. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m., and fans can tune into the game on The Varsity Network.
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