Campbell baseball eliminates NC State with 11-1 win in NCAA Tournament regional rematch
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Campbell baseball avenged its first-round loss in a rematch with NC State in the Columbia Regional on Sunday, eliminating the Wolfpack from the NCAA Tournament with an 11-1 victory.
Campbell (46-14) fell 5-1 to NC state in the opening round but dominated the Wolfpack (36-21) in the second meeting. Grant Knipp anchored the Camels with three hits on five at-bats, including a two-run home run, and Jarrod Belbin and Drew Winters also added a homer apiece.
NC State scored its lone run in the seventh inning off of an RBI single from Cannon Peebles. The Wolfpack landed 11 hits but stranded 12 runners on base.
The 2-seed Camels advance to face No. 15 seed South Carolina (41-19) on Sunday (6 p.m., ESPN+) in their third region final appearance in program history. If Campbell beats the Gamecocks on Sunday, it forces an if-necessary game Monday. The winner moves on to a best-of-three Super Regional series against the winner of the Gainesville regional.
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Campbell offense continues resurgence
The Camels scored just one run in their first meeting with NC State on Friday and fell behind 5-0 early in Saturday's losers bracket game against Central Connecticut State. Campbell scored 10 runs in two innings to beat the Blue Devils, and the bats stayed hot against NC State.
Belbin, Campbell's leadoff hitter, crushed his 21st home run of the season on his first at-bat, and Winters hit a two-run homer, his sixth of the season, three batters later in the first inning. Knipp, who entered with the lowest batting average in the lineup at .266, sent his home run just short of the left-field grandstand in the third. The Camels put an exclamation point on the win with their second three-run inning in the eighth.
Sloppy pitching dooms Wolfpack
NC State starting pitcher Sam Highfill struggled immediately to control his fastball, and Campbell took advantage. Prior to Sunday's game, Highfill had given up seven home runs on the season but allowed three in the first three innings to the Camels. In 2⅓ innings, he faced 16 batters and threw 65 pitches, giving up seven hits and five earned runs plus two wild pitches.
The Wolfpack bullpen fared slightly better, but still gave up a combined nine hits and four earned runs. The team also allowed seven walks after walking nine in its loss to South Carolina on Saturday.
Campbell starter Chance Daquila gave up eight hits in seven innings with six walks and a strikeout.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Campbell baseball routs NC State 11-1 in NCAA Tournament regional
