Bulldog Rally Falls Short In Series Finale With Campbell
March 31, 2014 | Softball
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. --- Kellie Beres (Greenville, N.C.) extended her hitting streak to five games, and Megan Champion (Knightdale, N.C.) drove in her 11th run of the season as Campbell held off a late rally by Gardner-Webb to survive for a 3-1 win and a Big South Conference series victory on Monday afternoon.
Campbell (22-17, 8-4 BSC) plated three runs on five hits in the contest, while holding Gardner-Webb (11-23, 1-5 BSC) to one run on three base knocks. Gardner-Webb claimed the first game of the series with a 2-1 walk-off win on Sunday, before the Camels answered with a 6-2 victory in the second contest.
Samantha Meenaghan (Atlantic Beach, Fla.) tallied a game-high two hits with a 2-for-3 day, batting 8-for-12 in the series with a triple and two RBI. Beres and Champion each added a base knocks, as Champion drove in Beres with a fourth-inning single.
Jessica Childers (Jacksonville Beach, Fla.) took the ball for the Runnin' Bulldogs, tossing the full seven innings while allowing two earned runs on five hits and striking out five.
Milly Martinet drove in two of the Camels' three runs with a two-run home run in the first. Brittany Bruce, Kerstine Womack, Courtney Klingler and Jordan Clarke each added a base knock for Campbell.
Courtney Roberts earned the win for Campbell, surrendering one run on four hits and striking out four in five innings of work. Katie Baker pitched two hitless frames, earning the save with five strikeouts.
Campbell took an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first, plating two runs on a two-run homer to left center by Martinet. Childers and the Runnin' Bulldog defense worked out of a tight jam in the fourth, leaving the bases loaded following a pair of nifty plays by a Savannah Burns (Vale, N.C.) and a diving stop by Megan Gibbons (Benson, N.C.) in foul territory.
The Runnin' Bulldog offense cut into the lead in the bottom of the inning, halving the margin to 2-1 on an RBI single down the left-field line by Champion, which scored Beres from second. Roberts fought her way out of the inning shortly after, stranding three runners with a three-pitch strikeout.
Campbell answered in the seventh, stretching the advantage to 3-1 when the throw on the double-play turn took a bad hop, allowing Bruce to score from second to give the Camels their second two-run lead of the game. Baker took over from there, striking out five of the six batters she faced to close out the win for Campbell.
Gardner-Webb is back in action on Tuesday when the Runnin' Bulldogs travel to Rock Hill, S.C. for a Big South doubleheader, beginning at 5:00 pm. Both games will air live on the Big South Network.
| Box Score: Campbell 3, Gardner-Webb 1 |
