CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – The Campbellsville Tigers hosted the Crimson Pride of Indiana University-Purdue University Columbus on Monday afternoon. The Tigers took down the Crimson Pride in a huge victory, 17-2.
Tristin Crusenberry opened on the mound for the Tigers to begin the game. With two outs, an infield error put a Crimson Pride runner on base and advanced to third on a pickoff error. Crusenberry struck out the final out, leaving the runner stranded and moving into the bottom half of the first inning. Amayas Lamar led off with a single to shallow right field to be the first Tiger to reach base. Jorge Gonzalez followed with a double to the left center fence, advancing Lamar to third base. Chad McCann was given free bases with a load, leaving the bases loaded. Kale Seitz sent a pitch down the left field line to score Lamar and Gonzalez. Trent Buchanan dropped a hit to shallow center, scoring McCann. Yosuke Fujie cleared the bases with a triple down the right field line. Before the final out was recorded, the Tigers racked up six hits and sent six runs across the plate.
To begin the second inning, the Tigers put away the Crimson Pride in three up, three down fashion. J. Gonzalez reached base via walk, followed by McCann's double to left field. Seitz reached after being hit by a pitch and loaded the bases. All three Tigers were left on base.
IUPUC was retired quickly to begin the third. River Terry reached base on a walk but was left on base.
J. Gonzalez singled up the middle and stole second to begin the bottom of the fourth inning. McCann was awarded base after being walked. A called balk moved J. Gonzalez and McCann into scoring position. J. Gonzalez was sent across the plate on a wild pitch, and McCann advanced to third. With the help of Mael Zan, McCann scored. The Tigers' success continued with a double to center field from Seitz. Henry Wright reached via walk. Seitz and Wright were sent around the bases on a triple from Terry. Fujie singled to shortstop, scoring Terry to take an 11-0 lead over the Crimson Pride.
IUPUC put a runner on base to attempt to cut into the Tigers' lead, but was unsuccessful to move into the bottom of the fifth inning. In the bottom half, J. Gonzalez sent a pitch to left field to reach base. With the help of James Teets, J. Gonzalez was moved into scoring position at second. Zan followed with a double of his own to center field and brought J. Gonzalez across the plate. A wild pitch moved Zan to third, and Seitz was hit by a pitch to reach base.
Alexander Salazar took to the mound to relieve Crusenberry to begin the sixth inning. With a runner on base for the Crimson Pride and a pitch sent to the right center fence, IUPUC looked to add a run to their side of the scoreboard. A throw from Reid Sturn to Lorenzo Gonzalez caught the runner at home. In the bottom half, Terry singled up the middle to reach base. Fujie followed with a double to left center, moving Terry to third. Lamar sent a pitch to center field for a sacrifice fly, scoring Terry. Teets was walked to reach and left the bases loaded. Zan flew out to center field, scoring Fujie. Before the final out was recorded, the Tigers continued to lead over the Crimson Pride, 14-0.
To begin the seventh inning, Ryan McFarland took over on the mound for Campbellsville. IUPUC scored their first run of the ball game, cutting into the Tigers' lead, 14-1.
Joe McBride took over for McFarland on the mound to begin the eighth. With no outs, the Crimson Pride loaded the bases. IUPUC sent one more run across the plate, but a double play from the Tigers minimized the damage. Jack Marlin singled to left field in the bottom half to reach base. A wild pitch sent Marlin to second base. With the help of Shoki Fukui, Marlin advanced to third base. Teets was given free bases after being hit by a pitch. A passed ball sent Marlin across the plate and Teets into scoring position at second. Zan reached base via walk, and a passed ball sent Teets to third. A balk sent another run across the plate for the Tigers and moved Zan to second. The success continued with Seitz sending a pitch to right center, doubling to reach base. Seitz was left stranded when the final out was recorded, but not before the Tigers extended their lead, 17-2.
Like the previous innings, the Tigers changed their pitcher to begin the ninth inning. Aaron Hammer struck out the first batter, and a double play ended the ball game.
The Tigers were led by J. Gonzalez, Seitz, Terry, and Fujie, with three hits each. The Tigers' pitching staff collected NUMBER strikeouts combined. Campbellsville led in many statistical categories: hits (18-7), at bats (37-28), doubles (7-3), triples (2-0), RBI (14-0), and OPS (1.352-.757).
Campbellsville will be back in action Friday, March 8th, in Talladega, Alabama, to take on Talladega College. The game is set to begin at 3 p.m. ET.
