Sunday, June 10, 2007

KILL DEVIL HILLS, N.C. -- Outer Banks Daredevils right-hander Justin Lilly, a rising senior at Campbell University, threw a no-hitter against Gastonia in Coastal Plain League action June 7 at First Flight Baseball Complex in Kill Devil Hills, N.C.

En route to the no hit, shutout performance, Lilly recorded 15 strikeouts as a Gastonia error led to a 1-0 win for the Daredevils over the Grizzlies. Gastonia managed only one base runner all night, when Lilly hit shortstop Zac Kennedy with an errant pitch in the top half of the seventh inning. The complete game no-hitter was the first in the 10-year history of the Outer Banks Daredevils franchise.

Lilly, a 6-foot-4 product of Athens Drive H.S. in Raleigh, N.C., struck out every Gastonia batter he faced at least once. In his two starts this year for the Outer Banks Daredevils, the business administration major is 1-0 with a 0.50 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 15 innings of work.

In his first year with the Fighting Camels, Lilly made 20 appearances, including 11 starts, on the hill during the 2007 campaign. He finished with a 0-6 won-lost record and a 6.19 earned run average. Lilly allowed 55 earned runs and 114 hits in 80 innings, while walking just 16 batters and striking out 54. He struck out a season-high seven batters on Mar. 16 at Mercer.

Lilly joined the Camels after two years at Louisburg Junior College, where he fashioned a 3-2 record with a 3.57 ERA in 12 outings as a sophomore in 2006.

He is one of five Fighting Camels playing in the CPL, a 15-team collegiate summer league that stretches from Virginia through the Carolinas. Brandon Scott and Carlton Floyd are with the Wilson Tobs, while Ryan Hamme is playing with his hometown Wilmington Sharks. Rob Lyerly is with the Asheboro Copperheads.

Courtesy of Campbell Athletics