BUIES CREEK — Grant Knipp didn’t do it all for Campbell in a 7-6 win over No. 11 East Carolina on Tuesday, but he did quite a bit.
Knipp had a 3-run homer and four RBIs before shedding his catching gear to pick up a save in his mound debut in the ninth.
The Camels (3-1) posted their third win over a ranked opponent after a 2-1 series triumph against No. 17 Cal Santa Barbara over the weekend.
ECU scored two runs in the eighth inning for a 6-5 lead on a squeeze bunt by Nathan Chrismon and a fielder’s choice by Ryley Johnson, but left the bases loaded.
Campbell scored two decisive unearned runs in the bottom of the eighth.
The Pirates (3-1) stranded 11 runners, issued six walks, had four wild pitches, hit one batter and committed a pair of errors. Only three of Campbell’s runs were earned.
The Camels took three wins by one run over ECU in 2023 so Tuesday’s contest had a familiar feel.
“We competed,” said Pirates coach Cliff Godwin on the ECU radio network. “We just didn’t play good enough. When you go on the road, you’ve got to win the game. You’ve got to make more plays than the other team. We didn’t play good enough defensively. We didn’t pitch good enough. … We’ve got to get better.”
The Pirates outhit the hosts, 8-6.
The Camels took a 3-0 lead in the third on a 3-run homer to right by Knipp.
ECU scored twice in the fifth after Dixon Williams led off with a single up the middle. Luke Nowak doubled to center to put runners at second and third.
Williams scored on an infield single by Justin Wilcoxen. ECU pulled within 3-2 on a bases-loaded walk to Jacob Starling. Campbell limited further damage with an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded.
A sacrifice fly by Knipp and an RBI single by Dylan Koontz extended Campbell’s lead to 5-2 in the fifth.
Carter Cunningham’s 2-run double in the seventh drove in Chrismon and Johnson to cut the lead to 5-4.
Williams and Wilcoxen each had two hits for the Pirates.
ECU starts a 3-game series with North Carolina in Chapel Hill on Friday at 4 p.m. Game two is scheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m. at Segra Park in Fayetteville. Game three will be at Clark-LeClair Stadium in Greenville on Sunday at 2 p.m.
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