Taylor Fans School-Record 14 Batters As UNCW Blanks Campbell, 6-0
Rob Washburn
Box Score
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. (May 22, 2025) – Second-seeded UNCW rode a record-setting pitching performance from Zane Taylor to top No. 3 Campbell, 6-0, in Game 5 of the CAA Baseball Championship on Thursday night at the Ballpark at Patriots Point.
The Seahawks (33-22) advance to play No. 1 Northeastern in the winner’s bracket at 7 p.m. on Friday. Campbell (25-30) will face an elimination game at 3 p.m. on Friday against either No. 4 Charleston or No. 6 Elon.
Taylor, the CAA Pitcher of the Year, surrendered just three hits over 8.0 scoreless innings and broke the UNCW record for strikeouts in a game with 14. The 14 K’s were one shy of the CAA Tournament record of 15 set by William & Mary’s Whitt Farr in 2002 and surpassed the Seahawks’ single-game mark of 12, set by current San Francisco Giant Landen Roupp in 2021. Taylor, who improved to 11-2, hasn’t allowed a run over his last 22.0 innings and has fanned 32 over that stretch.
Aiden Evans put UNCW on top 1-0 in the second after leading off with a single and scoring on a double play. The Seahawks extended the margin to three in the third when catcher Bryant Arendt launched a towering two-run homer over the wall in left.
UNCW took advantage of a pair of Campbell errors to tack on another run in the fifth and took control with two more in the seventh. Trevor Lucas scored on a Camels’ miscue after leading off the frame with a walk and Kevin Jones delivered an RBI double to right-center. Jones was the only player in the game with multiple hits, going 2-for-3.
Campbell, which had only four hits in the contest, put runners on second and third with none out in the fourth following a walk and a Jonah Oster double. However, Taylor escaped his only jam of the night with two strikeouts and a pop up to the catcher.