Campbell (N.C.) earned its first national ranking ever on Monday when Collegiate Baseball listed the Fighting Camels at No. 29 in its weekly poll.
A big reason why is the play of senior Ben McQuown, a 2008 Waianae alumnus, who leads the nation with 26 stolen bases through Sunday’s games.
The senior outfielder has scored 30 runs, ranking third in all of Division I, and has a .527 on-base percentage, which puts him 27th overall.
He’s only been thrown out trying to steal once in 19 games.
Campbell (16-3) is tops among 296 teams with 67 stolen bases and ranks in the top 10 in runs (third, 175), batting average (fourth, .327), doubles (eighth, 47) and slugging percentage (10th, .477).
McQuown went 3-for-4 with a double, run and RBI in an 8-6 win over East Carolina last Wednesday to give the Camels their first season sweep over their in-state rival since 1985.
Campbell opened Big South Conference play by winning two of three at Gardner-Webb over the weekend.
McQuown scored four times in the series, including the game-winning run in the eighth inning of Sunday’s 11-10 victory in which the Camels came back from a 9-0 deficit.
McQuown was named all-state second-team by the Honolulu Star-Bulletin as a senior in high school.
He played two seasons at Lower Columbia College before transferring to Campbell.
McQuown played in the Hawaii Collegiate Baseball League last summer and was ranked the No. 5 prospect in the league by Perfect Game.
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Billy Hull, Star-Advertiser
