HATTIESBURG, Ms. – The Campbellsville University Baseball team traveled to Mississippi for a double-header match up against William Carey University (RV) on Friday afternoon. The Tigers came away with a sweep over William Carey University with the same score for both games, 1-0.
Game One: Campbellsville 1, William Carey 0
It didn't take long for the Tigers to have runners on base. In the first half inning, Jorge Gonzalez was the first of the Tigers to reach base. Josiah Clark had the first hit of the game for the Tigers. Clark sent a pitch out to right field, advancing Logan Verble to third base. Verble reached base via walk but was left stranded.
In the third inning, Noah Amenta was hit by a pitch and given a free base. Again, the Tigers could not capitalize with a runner on base leaving Amenta on first. After reaching base on a fielder's choice, Eddy Arteaga had pinch runner, Alex Castaneda, come in to run for him. But again, the Tigers couldn't find their way around the bases.
Through the first half of the seventh inning, Clark reached bases through a field error advancing Verble who had been on base because of a walk. Kevin Whitaker reached base via walk himself resulting in the bases being loaded. On a wild pitch, Verble scored the first run of the ball game. The Tigers took the one-run lead over William Carey and would not relinquish it.
Deshawn Welch came to the mound for the Tigers and secured the win after just one inning of work. Kacey Cheek faced 22 batters striking out half of them. The lone hit of the ball game for the Tigers belonged to Clark.
Game Two: Campbellsville 1, William Carey 0
The Tigers didn't wait around when it came to hitting the ball. Whitaker sent a pitch down the left field line that was good enough for a double. Then, Amenta hit a single and advanced Whitaker into scoring position. Whitaker and Amenta were left stranded on base, however.
During the third inning, Jorge Gonzalez had his first hit of the day sending a pitch down the left field line and landing himself a double. Whitaker also had his first hit of the day hitting the ball to right field and scoring Gonzalez. Whitaker was picked off at first base for the first out of the inning. Samino Uze also added his name to the list of hits knocking the ball out to left field and getting himself a single. William Carey got out of the inning off a grounder from Amenta resulting in a double play. The Tigers took a one-run lead in the top of the third inning.
Joshua Lambert came in to relieve Caleb Thompson on the mound in the bottom of the third inning. The Tigers ended the inning with a 6-4-3 double play by Gonzalez, Clark, and Amenta. Grant McQueary landed his first hit of the day in the fourth inning through a bunt. Unfortunately, McQueary was later caught stealing to end the Tiger's at bat.
After several innings of having no hits, C. Castaneda hit a single out to left field in the top of the seventh inning. Alex Castaneda was sent in to pinch run but was caught stealing, ending the inning for the Tigers. The Tigers went into the bottom of the seventh inning with a one-run lead over William Carey. William Carey almost took the lead with a single to right field and a runner advancing around the bases. McQueary threw the ball to home to get the out and make sure the runner didn't score. With two balls, two strikes, and two outs, A. Castaneda caught a fly ball for out number three to end the seventh inning and the ball game. The Tigers took the 1-0 win over William Carey.
The Tigers had seven total hits. Whitaker was the only Tiger to have two hits to his name. The Tigers had a combined total of 116 pitches thrown by Thompson and Lambert. With 76 of the 116 pitches being strikes, Campbellsville had a .655 strike percentage.
The Tigers are scheduled to be back in action tomorrow to take on William Carey University in another double-header in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The first game is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET and the second is set to begin about 30 minutes after the end of the first.
