BUIES CREEK — Collin Wolf went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and a triple to lead the Campbell Fighting Camels to a 6-2 win over the Maine Black Bears in the final game of the Campbell Invitational Sunday afternoon at Jim Perry Stadium.
Wolf logged the second three-hit outing of his senior season and the fourth of his two-year career at Campbell with his trio of extra-base hits. The native of Puyallup, Wash., also drove in two runs and drew a walk. He was joined in the multi-hit column by McHenry County College transfer Ryan Parquette, who went 2-for-2 with a home run and three RBI.
Rookie Lawson Harrill, a native of Shelby, N.C., had Campbell’s other extra-base hit, ripping a one-out triple in the fourth inning for his first career hit as a Camel.
Cruz Aranda, A.J. Hrica,Spencer Packard and C.J. Peechatka had one hit apiece, rounding out 10 hits in the win, good for Campbell’s fourth game of the season with double-digit hits.
Senior righty Wyatt Tyson (1-0) earned the win, tossing 1.2 scoreless innings in relief while striking out one of the five batters he faced.
Logan Heintzman, who made his first home start of 2020, went the first 4.1 innings, scattering two strikeouts, three hits and one walk against 17 batters; he was responsible for one earned run.
Cole Hart, another CU senior, also held the Black Bears scoreless, retiring all six batters against him while racking up three strikeouts. Despite allowing a two-out RBI double in the ninth, redshirt-senior Jonathan Tyler finished the game, getting the final three outs by way of two strikeouts and a flyout.
Maine’s starter Colton Carson (0-1) suffered the loss, lasting just over one inning, issuing two walks, two hit by pitches and two wild pitches against the eight batters he faced. He was responsible for the early run Campbell scored in the second inning.
Harrill and Parquette led off the top of the second with a pair of hit by pitches, but Harrill was erased on an attempted double steal, leaving Parquette on second base with Peechatka at the plate. Two pitches later, Peechatka delivered an RBI single to score Parquette and give the Camels the early 1-0 lead.
Harrill recorded his first hit as a Camel in the bottom of the fourth, ripping a one-out triple down the right-field line. Behind 0-2 at the plate, Parquette moved Harrill up 90 feet and scored himself on a two-run home run to left field, good for his first long ball as a Camel.
Aranda and Packard kept the fourth inning going with back-to-back two-out singles, bringing Wolf to the plate, who cleared the bases with a two-run triple, upping Campbell’s lead to five, 5-0.
Maine scored its first run of the ballgame in the top of the fifth on a one-out RBI double. Heintzman issued a walk to the next batter and was relieved by Tyson, who first faced Mike Sabatine with runners on first and second base. Sabatine laid down a sacrifice bunt to move a pair of Black Bears into scoring position, but Tyson punched out Maine’s leadoff batter Colby Emmertz for the final out.
Campbell moved its lead back to five runs, 6-1, in the bottom of fifth when Parquette scored Harrill on a one-out RBI single after Harrill and Hrica reached on a pair of one-out walks.
Maine was down to its final strike and out in the ninth, but Alex McKenny hit a two-out RBI double to keep the inning alive; however, Tyler punched out Cody Pasic to clinch Campbell’s third win of 2020.
Up Next for the Camels
With no midweek games scheduled this upcoming week, the Camels will prepare to play in the Armed Forces Invitational this weekend in Fayetteville, N.C. The three-day tournament, hosted by the Fayetteville Woodpeckers at Segra Stadium, will feature Campbell, Army and Air Force, with two games scheduled each day.
The Camels will face Army on Friday, Feb. 28 at 6 p.m., before taking on Air Force on Saturday, Mar. 1 at 1 p.m. Campbell will cap off the weekend by competing against both teams again on Sunday, Mar. 2, first playing Army at 11 a.m. and then Air Force at 3 p.m. A post-game fireworks show will follow the conclusion of the last game on both Friday and Saturday night.
