Hunter Loyd, Trenton Harris star in Campbell baseball's win over ECU
An East Carolina baseball fan voiced his displeasure from the party deck at Segra Stadium on Wednesday night.
“Oh, I hate losing to Campbell,” he said following the Pirates’ 2-1 loss to the Camels, ECU’s second in a row against the boys from Buies Creek.
In a top-20 showdown at downtown Fayetteville’s state-of-the-art ballpark, the 18th-ranked Camels (16-3) tacked on runs early and leaned on some solid pitching to turn away the 10th-ranked Pirates (16-5) and their lavender jerseys.
Campbell, which earned a 6-5 win in 10 innings against ECU on Feb. 21 in Buies Creek, hadn’t beaten the Pirates since 2020. It’s the program’s first winning streak in the series since taking two in 2013.
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Here are some takeaways from the Camels’ latest victory against ECU.
Campbell pitcher Hunter Loyd limits ECU
Campbell right-handed pitcher Hunter Loyd got the start on the mound and pitched five scoreless innings in an impressive effort.
Loyd, a senior who played his first three seasons at East Tennessee State, got out of two bases-loaded jams to keep the Pirates off the board. He allowed three hits, four walks and finished with five strikeouts.
After entering the game with a 5.11 ERA in three appearances, Loyd saw his ERA drop to 3.63 with his solid outing against ECU. He allowed five earned runs in his last outing – a 12-9 loss to Coastal Carolina on March 14.
Trenton Harris blasts ball to berm
Trenton Harris made some noise out of the No. 9 spot in Campbell’s lineup with a solo home run that reached the berm beyond the left-field wall.
Harris, a junior who entered the game with a .256 batting average , gave Campbell a 2-0 lead with his second dinger of the season. His only other homer came on March 17 against Winthrop. Tyler Halstead started the scoring with an RBI groundout in the bottom of the first.
Campbell bullpen comes through
ECU sophomore Jacob Jenkins-Cowart started the eighth inning with a leadoff double on a pop fly that landed just inside of the third-base line on the outfield grass.
Campbell’s Aaron Rund, who helped pitch 6.1 scoreless innings of relief in Campbell’s win against the Pirates earlier this season, came through again Wednesday. Jenkins-Cowart scored on an RBI single by pinch hitter Ryan McCrystal, but Rund got out of the inning with a strikeout.
After a groundout to start the ninth, ECU got its first baserunner on an error. Luke Nowak advanced to second with a steal before Rund closed the door with a strikeout to ignite the Campbell celebration.
Rund pitched four innings to secure the save. He allowed one run on three hits and logged four strikeouts, pushing his season total to 26, which is the second-best mark on the team.
Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Campbell baseball beats ECU in top-20 showdown at Segra Stadium
