Baseball Walked Off by Campbell

Saturday, March 5

Fayetteville, NC

5 PM

Army West Point

2-6

Campbell

5-6

Army

Campbell

Baseball Walked Off by Campbell

March 05, 2022 | Baseball

Box Score

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – The Army West Point baseball team dropped a heartbreaker to Campbell on Saturday night at Segra Stadium, falling 6-5 when the Camels used an RBI single to grab a walk-off win in the All-American Classic.

Though the Black Knights (2-6) trailed for most of the night, they went into the bottom of the final frame with the advantage after a four-spot in the eighth and an additional run in the top of the ninth put them up 5-4. Unfortunately, the team was unable to hold on as a costly error allowed the Camels (5-6) to overtake the Cadets.

Campbell set the tone early, scoring three runs in the opening frame to take their initial lead. Though starting arm Mike Ruggieri went on to pitch two scoreless frames, the Camels added an additional run in the fourth that pushed their edge to 4-0.

Army's offense struggled to get going, as Sam Ruta's fourth-inning triple was the only hit that the team recorded in seven innings. Army had a solid chance to get on the board in the seventh when both Andre Walden and Nick Manesis, who walked, got into scoring position using stolen bases, but they were left stranded.

Following the early scoring, Campbell's offense went quiet when Robbie Buecker was called out of the bullpen. The right-hander tossed three innings of scoreless relief, fanning two batters while facing just one over the minimum.

While the Camels failed to push their lead, Army's offense finally came to life in the eighth inning. Both Carter Macias and Hunter Meade scored on fielder's choice plays to end the shutout before Ross Friedrick's two-RBI double tied up the score at 4-4.

The momentum carried into the bottom of the frame, as Matthew Ronnebaum retired all three Camels he faced on strikeouts. Following the right-hander's dominant inning, the Cadets took their first lead of the night when Kevin Dubrule's long single drove in Macias to lift Army to a 5-4 edge in the top of the ninth.

Unwilling to go down without a fight, the Camels took advantage of a muffed infield throw and scored a pair of runs to claim their final 6-5 margin of victory. Ronnebaum was tagged with the loss, moving him to 0-1 on the year.

Coach's Corner
"It was a good ballgame tonight, but we need to execute better situationally. We are still gaining valuable experience against very good competition and the only way you get better is to play, learn from what happened and move on. It will be good to get them out there again tomorrow." - Head Coach Jim Foster

What's Next
Army will close out the All-American Classic with an 11 a.m. game against Ohio State on Sunday at Segra Stadium.

Follow Along
For complete coverage of Army West Point Baseball, follow the Black Knights on Twitter and Instagram at @ArmyWP_Baseball and online at www.goarmywestpoint.com.