By Terry Boehmker
NKy Tribune sports reporter
When the Campbell County baseball team plays in the semifinals of the state tournament on Friday night, Alex Franzen will be on the mound and Collin Teegarden will be the starting shortstop for the Camels.
Both of their fathers played on Campbell County teams that made it to the state playoffs in the 1980s and lost in the early rounds. That gives their sons an added incentive to compete for the state championship trophy on the same weekend as Father’s Day.
“My dad is really emotional about baseball and passionate about it,” Franzen said. “To see your dad as happy as he is, makes it all really special.”
“My dad gets hyped in the stands watching us,” Teegarden said. “He said it’s like he’s playing again because he loves the game so much.”
The two fathers, Greg Franzen and Steve Teegarden, will be among the Campbell County fans making the trip to Lexington on Friday to watch their team play Bullitt East in a semifinal game at 8:30 p.m. at Whitaker Bank Ball Park. The winner will advance to the championship game that’s set for 7 p.m. Saturday.
Collin plays shortstop for the Camels, just like his dad did on the 1986 team that made it to the second round of the state playoffs.
“All of the people who came to their games tell me I look just like him.” Collin said. “We wear the same number, play the same position and have the same hair. When he was younger, he had curly hair too and everybody tells me I look just like him out there.”
This is Collin’s first year at Campbell County. He moved into the school district last summer and joined the baseball team after it lost most of the starters on the 2015 roster to graduation.
The lanky junior earned a spot in this year’s starting lineup as the starting shortstop and leadoff hitter. He has a .288 batting average (26 of 90) with a team-high 42 runs scored and 18 stolen bases going into Friday’s state semifinal game.
“They seemed to accept him right away,” Campbell County coach Scott Schweitzer said of Teegarden’s transition to the new team. “He played shortstop and the guys who were playing there started doing some pitching so that opened some opportunities to get more guys on the mound. As long as they were all playing somewhere and we were winning, they were all happy.”
Alex Franzen started out as a catcher for the Camels, which was the same position his dad played on the 1989 Campbell County team that lost in the first round of the playoffs.
Last year, Alex started pitching for the varsity team as a closer out of the bullpen. The senior right-hander moved into the starting rotation this season and became the team’s ace. He has an 11-3 record with an ERA below 2.00 with 110 strikeouts in 95 innings.
Alex said his transition to pitching didn’t start out well. In a junior varsity game, he hit four batters in a row and his coach told him he needed to work on his delivery to continue playing.
“After that, my dad was in the backyard with me every other day throwing about 100 pitches a day,” Alex said. “I told my dad I wasn’t giving up baseball so we had to do something. After a while, we just figured it all out.”
Alex’s development as a pitcher and his senior leadership have been key elements in Campbell County’s surprising success this season. The Camels weren’t ranked among the top 20 teams at the end of the regular season and now they’re one of the final four teams in playoffs.
“If he gives up a hit, he’s not happy,” coach Schweitzer said of Alex. “In the regional semifinal, he misplayed a bunt and then strikes out the one, two and three hitters in the lineup. When the times get tough, he answers the call. He’s just got that serious moxie about him.”