GREENSBORO – Including pregame coupled with playing a game that included a nearly two-hour lightning and rain delay, the Campbell and North Carolina A&T baseball teams spent more than seven hours at War Memorial Stadium on Saturday.
Saturday's weather made for a crazy day. The series was initially scheduled for three games on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. An inclement weather pattern changed those plans, moving Saturday's action to an 11 a.m. doubleheader, thus removing the need to play on Sunday, which is also expected to have inclement weather.
But with another storm system moving into the Piedmont Triad area after Campbell's win, the two teams decided to play on Sunday after all, with the first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. at The War. Sunday's rubber game will determine the winner of the crucial three-game series.
When Saturday's long day ended, the Campbell Fighting Camels evened their three-game series against the Aggies with a 10-4 Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) win. The loss knocks the Aggies outside the top six in the CAA standings. They dropped to 15-30 overall and 9-11 in league play, falling into a seventh-place tie with the College of Charleston. Only the top six teams advance to the CAA baseball tournament.
Campbell moved into fifth place after the win, improving to 19-26 overall and 10-10 in the CAA home runs from Darnell Parker and Joey Morton. Parker's homer in the first inning off A&T right-handed starter Gavin Sentell (L, 1-8) gave the Camels a 1-0 lead.
A&T took the lead in its second inning. Camels right-hander Zach Sabers (W, 1-0) walked junior Andrew Tinsley to open the frame before freshman Savoi Edwards hit an RBI double to left field to tie the game 1-1. Junior Nick DiCarlo later delivered a two-out RBI single, giving the Aggies a 2-1 advantage. Campbell took the lead for good in the visitors' third.
Back-to-back RBI singles from Dalen Thompson and Joey Morton gave the Camels a 3-2 lead. Andrew Schuldt gave the Camels a 4-2 advantage with an RBI double, followed by Jonah Oster bringing home Morton to go ahead by three runs. Sentell exited the inning by getting Charlie Meglio to fly out to left and striking out Ben Karpowicz.
The Camels threatened again in their fourth inning, putting two runners on against Sentell before the Aggies turned to junior RHP Darius Robinson. Robinson and the Aggies got out of the inning thanks to a pop-up to second and an inning-ending double play. A&T's defense allowed Tinsley to bring the Aggies to within two, 5-3, in the A&T fourth with a solo home run. Tinsley's home run marked his second of the series and his third of the season.
Morton gave the Camels a three-run advantage again with a solo homer. It marked Campbell's sixth home run of the series thus far. A&T tried to mount a rally in the home fifth after a two-out single from sophomore Jason Campo and a double from Bruce Wyche. However, Sabers struck out freshman Tyler Smith to end the frame.
Campbell took a four-run lead in the sixth when junior RHP Carter Daniels walked in a run. Freshman righty Mekai Griffin replaced him and struck out Schuldt before getting Oster to ground into a force play to end the inning. A&T pulled within three on back-to-back doubles in the sixth from Tinsley and Edwards. Edwards finished the game going 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored.
Unfortunately, the runs kept coming for the Camels. They scored three more runs in their seventh, fueled by a two-run RBI single from Thompson to give the Camels a 10-4 advantage. After the Aggies completed the seventh inning, a lightning delay paused the game before freshman RHP Jordan Bright took to the mound following the delay to finish the game. He gave two hits in the eighth before pitching a perfect ninth. A&T secured only one hit after the delay, leading to Sunday's massive matchup.
