Baseball Falls To Camels 15-10

BUIES CREEK, N.C. – The two teams stood toe-to-toe trading haymakers and lighting up the scoreboard through a 52-minute first inning, but in the end Campbell turned a slugfest into a track meet and ran past NC State, 15-10, Tuesday night at Taylor Field.

The Camels hit five triples and three doubles, and stole four bases in winning for the 10th time in their last 11 games, improving to 15-7 overall and avenging a 9-8 loss to the Wolfpack at Doak Field and Dail Park on Feb. 27. The Wolfpack fell to 14-7.

The first inning was a marathon featuring three home runs, two triples, a double, three walks and two errors, and had the two teams on pace for an eight-hour game. Playing long ball, the Wolfpack jumped on Campbell starter Logan Self. Kyle Wilson led off the game and hit the second pitch for a homer to left-center. With one away, Andrew Ciencin hit a solo homer to straightway center field. Pratt Maynard singled and Drew Poulk walked, and Tarran Senay made it 5-0 with a three-run homer to center field, the longest of the three first-inning homers by the Pack.

The Camels came back with seven in the bottom half of the inning, which started with misfortune for Wolfpack starter Danny Healey (0-1) and quickly deteriorated. Chris Bangi led off and worked Healey for a nine-pitch walk, then went all the way to third when Elliis Lowe lofted a hit-and-run single to shallow right field. Lowe went to second on a wild pitch to put runners on second and third with none out. Healey recovered to strike out Alan Denman, but walked Alex Aycoth to load the bases. Zach Johnson hit a sharp grounder to first base that kicked off the glove of Pratt Maynard for an error. Two runs scored on the play, and after Bryan Braswell popped out for the second out, cousins Kevin and Cameron Nelson hit back-to-back triples, driving in three runs and chasing Healey, who was charged with just one earned run.

Vance Williams came in to pitch for NC State and D.J. Johnson greeted him with a double down the line and into the left-field corner, scoring Cameron Nelson to give Campbell a 6-5 lead. Johnson stole third and scored when Ciencin threw wide to first base on Lowe’s grounder to third base.

With one down in the bottom of the third, Williams hit both Nelsons with pitches and D.J. Johnson hit a blooper over the mound and into no-man’s land on the infield grass for an excuse-me single. All hands were safe, and Bangi cleared the bases with a three-run triple to center field. Lowe followed with a double to right-center to make it 11-5 and end the night for Williams. Nate King came out of the pen and walked Denman, but got Aycoth to ground into an inning-ending double play.

King and Brandon Price, making his first appearance, held the Camels at bay through the fourth and fifth innings, but with two out in the bottom of the sixth, Price walked Aycoth, and Zach Johnson cashed the walk in with a triple to left-center field.

The Camels extended their lead to double digits in the bottom of the seventh. With one out, Price hit Cameron Nelson with a pitch and D.J. Johnson tripled to right-center. Bangi drove in Johnson with a ground ball past the drawn-in infield and into right field. Bangi stole second and scored on Denman’s single up the middle to make it 15-5.

The Wolfpack finally got back on the scoreboard in the top of the eighth. Campbell reliever Parker Fleming walked Russell Wilson and Matt Bergquist to start the inning, prompting his exit from the game. Colin Parker came in and got Kyle Wilson looking, but walked Dallas Poulk to load the bases with one down. Ciencin hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score one run, and Maynard hit a double into the gap in right-center, driving in Bergquist and Poulk to cut the lead to 15-8.

Danny Canela led off the top of the ninth for NC State and singled up the middle. Dan Gardo came in to pitch for Ben Brown and walked Senay. Russell Wilson grounded a single up the middle to drive in Canela and Bergquist grounded into a double play to score Senay with the final run of the game.

NC State will return to action on Friday in the first game of a three-game Atlantic Coast Conference series against Miami. Game times are 6:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 1 p.m. on Sunday. All three games will be broadcast live on WKNC-FM (88.1) and on-line on gopack.com through the Pack Pass package.

North Carolina State University Athletics

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