By By KEVIN TRAVIS, Sports Editor
GREENVILLE — Trent Whitehead’s grand slam into The Jungle helped power the No. 24 East Carolina Pirates to an 11-2 thumping of the Campbell Camels.
The victory on Wednesday at Clark-LeClair Stadium in front of 2,596 fans, about half the crowd that watched ECU fall 4-3 to N.C. State a night earlier, was the second over the Camels in a week. The Pirates (19-8) outscored the Camels (10-18) 22-5 in the two games.
Whitehead’s first career grand slam capped a seven-run seventh inning that gave ECU an 11-1 lead. The freshman right fielder, a former standout at Washington High School who made his 10th career start, crushed Wesley Edwards’ 3-1 offering over the fence in left.
ECU, which pounded out 14 hits, already had enough offense by the seventh inning. Corey Kemp, Ryan Wood, Brandon Henderson, Dustin Harrington and Bobby Fowler all had two hits apiece to pace the Pirate attack. The hits were the first of Fowler’s career.
Pirate starter Daniel Holder (2-1) tossed five innings of shutout ball to get the win. He scattered four hits, struck out five and walked two.
The Pirates took advantage of two Campbell miscues to grab a 2-0 lead in the second. Singles by Kemp and Harrington, coupled with a walk by Devin Harris, loaded the bases. Fowler reached on a two-out error by Camel shortstop Zach Johnson, which allowed one run to score. Harrington then scored on a balk by Campbell pitcher Trevor Smith (0-1).
ECU tacked on two more runs in the fourth. Henderson started the rally with a leadoff double. Harris slapped an RBI single into left, while Fowler’s sacrifice bunt scored another run for a 4-0 lead.
Carlton Floyd’s RBI double off ECU reliever Bailey Daniels got Campbell on the scoreboard in the sixth.
The Pirates broke the game wide open with the seven runs in the seventh. Fowler’s double to lead off the inning, the first hit of his college career, ignited the rally. Wood ripped a single into right to score Fowler, Stephen Batts had an RBI double and Harrington added an RBI single to make it 7-1.
Whitehead cleared the bases with his second career home run, giving the Pirates the 11-1 advantage.
Brian Gana’s RBI single in the eighth made it 11-2.
Britton Cole, from Chocowinity, pitched one inning of relief for the Pirates. He allowed an unearned run on one hit, while striking out two and walking one.
The Pirates return to Conference USA play for a three-game series at Southern Miss this weekend. Game time are set for 7:30 p.m. Friday, 4 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday.
ECU returns home Tuesday against Old Dominion.
Campbell 000 001 010 — 2 7 2
East Carolina 020 200 70x — 11 14 2
WP: Daniel Holder (2-1); LP: Trevor Smith (0-1)
Hitters: C — Carlton Floyd 2-4 (2B, RBI), John Watlington 2-3, Ellis Lowe 1-4, Zach Johnson 1-4, Brian Gana 1-1 (RBI); ECU — Corey Kemp 2-3, Ryan Wood 2-4 (RBI), Dustin Harrington 2-4 (RBI), Bobby Fowler 2-3 (2B, RBI), Brandon Henderson 2-5 (2B), Trent Whitehead 1-4 (HR, 4 RBI), Devin Harris 1-3 (RBI), Stephen Batts 1-4 (2B, RBI), Austin Homan 1-1.