Gardner-Webb Tops Campbell, 9-1, To Take Game One Friday
April 27, 2007 | Baseball
BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Jonathon Ban worked eight strong
innings and Gardner-Webb rapped out 12 hits to beat Campbell, 9-1,
in the opener of a key A-Sun series.
Ban (5-3) scattered eight hits and allowed just one run through 8.0
innings, throwing a career-high 121 pitches and fanning five
batters.
Gardner-Webb (18-27, 7-12 A-Sun) went up 5-0 early, getting three
runs on four hits in the first and a two-run homer from Josh
Drewery – his first of the year – with two outs in the
second inning.
With his team up, Ban got himself into a bit of trouble in the
bottom of the second, as Campbell (9-35, 3-16 A-Sun) sandwiched a
pair of walks around a single to load the bases with one out.
Backed into a corner, the Bulldog righty came through, fanning the
next two Camel batters to get his team back into the dugout.
Campbell loaded the bases again with one out in the third, getting
three consecutive singles to left field. An RBI groundout by Todd
Matthews cut Gardner-Webb's lead to 4-3, with second baseman Matt
Rizzuto's miraculous defensive play cutting down the batter at
first. Ban worked out of the jam and stranded two more Camels.
Camel starter Justin Lilly settled down after his rough two first
innings, retiring 13 batters in a row after Drewery's long ball
– as Gardner-Webb's bats went suddenly cold.
Gardner-Webb broke its icy streak in the top of the seventh, as
Matt Rizzuto looped a single into center, and Justin Loyd drove him
in with a deep double in the left center gap for a 6-1 Bulldog
lead. Jamall Kinard followed with a sharp single to right center to
plate Loyd, and Josh Drewery roped a double into left to score
Kinard from first for an 8-1 lead. A balk pushed Drewery to third,
and Daniel Cook poked an RBI hit through a drawn in infield to push
the lead to 9-1 – before the Camels got a twin killing to end
the frame.
Ban wasn't ready to hand his first A-Sun start of the season over
the bullpen either, and worked easily through the seventh and
eighth innings – despite throwing a career-high 121 pitches to
that point.
Tim Thomas came on to close out the win in the ninth, fanning two
batters in the process.
Drewery paced Gardner-Webb's offense, going 3-for-4 with three RBI
and three runs scored. Kinard (2-for-5, RBI, two runs) and Loyd
(2-for-4, RBI, two runs) also had multi-hit games.
Lilly (0-5) allowed 10 hits and eight earned runs in 6.1 innings of
work for the Camels.
Daniel Smith, Brandon York and Robb Meng each had two hits for
Campbell.
Game Two of Friday's doubleheader is set to begin at 7 pm ET.
| GAME BOX: GWU 9, Campbell 1 |
