BUIES CREEK, N.C. — For the second straight year, the Campbell Fighting Camels clinched a Big South Conference regular-season championship on its annual Senior Day, blanking the Longwood Lancers, 11-0, on Saturday afternoon at Jim Perry Stadium.
With the win, the Camels earned the No. 1 overall seed in the 2019 Big South Championship that will be played in Fayetteville at the new Segra Stadium next week.
Rookie lefty Ryan Chasse (7-2) collected the win over Longwood, striking out seven over six shutout innings. He allowed just two base hits and no walks to the 18 batters he faced.
Julian Blackburn, Logan Heintzman and Tyson Messer pitched one inning apiece to close out the game, and each reliever collected a pair of strikeouts, as Campbell finished the day with 13 punch outs to no walks.
Tyler Anshaw, Grant Harris, Zach Minnick and Spencer Packard each had 2-for-4 showings at the plate. Anshaw added an RBI double and a three-run home run, Harris had a solo home run and an RBI single, Minnick collected a solo dinger with an RBI base hit, and Packard finished with a double and an RBI single.
Both Collin Wolf and AJ Hrica had a base hit apiece, rounding out Campbell’s 10 hits on the day.
With one gone in the bottom of the third, Hrica singled into right field. Gimenez popped out to the first baseman for the second out, but Barefoot drew a five-pitch walk, bringing Anshaw to the plate, who lifted a 2-2 pitch over the right-field wall to put the Camels ahead 3-0.
Harris and Minnick hit back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the fourth to move Campbell’s advantage to five, 5-0.
Highlighted by Anshaw’s RBI double, Campbell posted a five-spot in the bottom of the sixth to go up 10-0, reaching double-digit runs for the third straight game. The Camels added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth on Packard’s RBI single that scored pinch-runner Cameron Witt.
Up next, the Camels will prepare for the Big South Baseball Championship in Fayetteville. The Camels will play their first game on Thursday, May 23, against the lowest-seeded winner from Games 3-5.
Photos courtesy Bennett Scarborough
