May 31, 2014

Hump Day: Camels Get First NCAA Win

By John Whittle

Special To CollegeBaseballInsider.com

@johnmwhittle

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Budget be damned! Filets for all!

It took 12 innings and more than 50 years, but Campbell won its first NCAA baseball tournament game in program history with a 4-1 win over Old Dominion on Saturday afternoon in the Columbia Regional.

Campbell head coach Greg Goff, smiling from ear to ear walking off the press conference podium, asked for steakhouse recommendations in Columbia saying that his athletics director, Bob Roller, was footing the bill.

The Fighting Camels (41-20) went a stretch of eight innings with only one hit but scored three runs in the top of the 12th to extend their second trip in the NCAA tournament at least another day.

Campbell sent eight hitters to the plate, managing three runs on two hits, a walk and a hit batsman. Elijah Trail and Brooks Borders had RBI singles in the inning with the third and final run scoring on a throwing error by Monarchs right fielder Taylor Ostrich.

“I thought both clubs played a really flawless game,” Goff said. “My hat’s off to Old Dominion and their competitive spirit. We just got some breaks there at the end. Great game, hate that somebody lost. It was great to be on the other side of things from last night.”

The Camels were able to score a run in the second inning on an RBI single by Seth LaRue to open the scoring. Campbell could only muster one more hit until the 11th inning but enough offense would come in the 12th.

ODU (36-26) tied the score at one apiece in the fourth inning, but the No. 3 seed was in prime position to score more. With runners on the corners and no one out, Ostrich hit into a double play to leave the bases empty but the score tied.

“It’s one of those games that you couldn’t get a hit for whatever reason,” ODU coach Chris Finwood said. “We had plenty of opportunities. Felt like we had the right guys up there but to their credit, they had good pitches and we couldn’t get a big hit.”

Old Dominion had just six hits in the game and also committed four errors. The Monarchs stranded six runners.

The Monarchs went quietly in the final frame with a ground out, pop out and strikeout ending their season. ODU is now 4-16 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and 1-6 in Regional games played in Columbia.

Side-winding closer Ryan Thompson picked up the victory in his second appearance in as many games in the Regional. He allowed only one hit and one walk over five innings, moving his record to 7-2 on the season.

Campbell will take on the loser of Saturday night’s winners’ bracket game between South Carolina and Maryland on Sunday at 1 p.m. on ESPN3. The Camels lost on Friday 5-2 to the Gamecocks.

Of course, there’s a steak to eat first.