D-Braves’ Campusano shows toughness

Joel Campusano hobbled around the Danville Braves clubhouse with a significant limp in his step Sunday night after a Greeneville base runner’s spike tore his leg open on an unsuccessful steal attempt.

Though he was removed from the game after that first-inning collision, the second baseman wasn’t out of action for long.

Campusano returned to the lineup against Johnson City on Tuesday, where he went 3-for-4 with a season-high three runs scored. The great outing wasn’t anything terribly unexpected, as the tough 21-year-old’s career to this point has been all about battling.

Heading into Danville’s 7-6 loss to the Burlington Royals on Thursday at Dan Daniel Park, Campusano owned a .375 batting average, the second-highest on the team.

“We had a tough luck night,” Campusano said, “but we’ll come back tomorrow and it’s another game.”

It’s that type of never-give-up attitude that has served Campusano well.

In his first eight games played this season he had nine hits, including a double and triple, in 24 at-bats. He had scored six runs, recorded two RBIs and struck out just four times. His on-base percentage of .464 led the team, and he owned a slugging percentage of .500 and a .964 OPS.

Campusano has committed just one fielding error this season while starting all nine of his games at second base, a tremendous improvement over the 18 errors he committed in the last two seasons combined.

The 5-foot-11, 200-pound infielder from the Dominican Republic who bats and throws right was signed by the Atlanta Braves as a non-drafted free agent in November 2005.

Campusano posted a batting average of .349 with the Dominican Summer League Braves last year, connecting for 38 hits, including two homers, and 20 RBIs. He scored 21 runs and struck out just 12 times in 109 at-bats. The previous season, he managed just a .177 batting average with the Gulf Coast League Braves.

Campusano was having a rough night at the plate on Thursday, going 0-for-3 with a groundout, fly out and strikeout before doing all he could to hand Danville the go-ahead run. After hot-hitting Matt Kennelly was intentionally walked to put runners on first and second with the game tied at 6-6, Campusano looped a single into shallow center field. Gerardo Rodriguez attempted to score from second but was thrown out at the plate to end the inning.

“They walked (Kennelly) but Campy came through with a soft hit up the middle and the shortstop made the play of the game,” D-Braves manager Paul Runge said. “It’s just one of those things.”

Campusano had his foot stepped on while getting a runner out at first base in the top of the ninth, and called the trainer off as he hopped back to his position. The trainer came out anyway, and Campusano was pulled in favor of Randy Gress.

“You have to take him out of the game. You have to look out for him,” hitting coach Carlos Mendez said. “He’s a battler, though. He’ll just come back tomorrow and hopefully be ready. If he stays healthy he’ll hopefully help us out.”

NEWS & NOTESDanville leadoff batter L.V. Ware never left the batter’s box when he grounded out to the pitcher in the first inning. D-Braves manager Paul Runge argued for several minutes with the umpire that Ware had fouled the ball off himself. Runge tried to appeal to the official at first base, even standing between the mound and home plate for some time, but to no avail. … Danville had the bases loaded with one out in the sixth inning. Jon Gilmore singled to center to score a run, but a base-running error by Gerardo Rodriguez cost the D-Braves another run. Rodriguez attempted to advance from first to third on Gilmore’s single, but Shayne Moody had stopped at third. Both runners were eventually tagged by Burlington’s catcher, and Rodriguez was deemed out. In the D-Braves’ next at-bat, Matt Kennelly cleared the bases with a double to left field. … Danville blew a four-run lead, the largest blown lead of the season for the D-Braves. … Burlington swept the abbreviated two-game series for its second and third wins of the season. The back-to-back losses marked the first time this year that Danville dropped consecutive contests.

HOW THEY SCORED
TOP OF THE FIRST: Angelo Paulino pitching. Hilton Richardson flies out to center. Angel Franco grounds out to third. Julio Aparicio singles to right. David Wood doubles to right, scoring Aparicio. Wood advances to third on a wild pitch. Warren McFadden doubles to right, scoring Wood. Allen Caldwell flies out to left. Burlington 2, Danville 0
BOTTOM OF THE THIRD: Victor Jorge pitching. Matt Kennelly solo home run to left. Joel Campusano flies out to right. Will White walks. White steals second. L.V. Ware fouls out to third. Chais Fuller flies out to center. Burlington 2, Danville 1
BOTTOM OF THE FOURTH: Jorge pitching. Shayne Moody singles to shallow left. Gerardo Rodriguez two-run homer to left-center field. Chris Shehan singles to right. Jon Gilmore bats into 4-6-3 double play. Kennelly flies out to left. Danville 3, Burlington 2
BOTTOM OF THE SIXTH: Jorge pitching. Fuller walks. Moody safe on fielder’s choice. Pitching change to O.D. Gonzalez. Rodriguez walks, loading the bases with no outs. Shehan strikes out. Gilmore singles to center, scoring Fuller. Rodriguez out on base running miscue. Kennelly two-run double to left, scoring Moody and Gilmore. Campusano strikes out. Danville 6, Burlington 2
TOP OF THE SEVENTH: David Francis pitching. Miguel Moctezuma strikes out. Fernando Cruz walks. Yeldrys Molina lfies out to first. Richardson walks. Franco singles to left, scoring Cruz. Pitching change to Matt Small. Aparicio doubles off the left-center field wall, scoring Richardson and Franco. Wood strikes out. Danville 6, Burlington 5
TOP OF THE EIGHTH: Matt Small pitching. McFadden grounds out to second. Caldwell flies out to center. Moctezuma home run to left. Cruz grounds out to short. Danville 6, Burlington 6
TOP OF THE NINTH: Small pitching. Molina triples to left. Richardson grounds out to the pitcher. Franco singles to shallow left, scoring Molina. Aparicio strikes out. Wood flies out to left. Burlington 7, Danville 6