By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
The Campbell County baseball team that came within one run of winning a state championship last year is off to a 6-0 start this spring with six returning senior starters and some promising newcomers in the lineup.
In their first six games, the Camels scored 76 runs and gave up only 12. They had four games end in the fifth inning because they were ahead by 10 runs or more. On Monday night, they were tied, 5-5, in the fifth inning against Ryle when umpires ended the game due to rain.
“They’re hungry,” Campbell County coach Scott Schweitzer said of his players’ fast start. “Last year, we had a great run, but when you finish second it’s never fun. They want to have the opportunity to get back (to the playoffs) and they’ve worked hard at it.”
Last year, Campbell County won eight consecutive post-season playoff games to reach the state championship game for the first time in team history. The run ended with a 1-0 loss to Louisville St. Xavier in the season finale. The Camels actually had the tying run on third base when St. Xavier got the final out.
Three starters on last year’s team graduated, including pitching ace Alex Franzen. But Campbell County was ranked among the top 20 teams in the first statewide coaches poll this spring and is one of only six teams around the state that still has a perfect record this season.
“We lost Alex from last year and he’s a tough guy to replace with the way he pitched the entire season,” coach Schweitzer said. “But we’ve had guys who pitched a little bit last year and they’ve come up and done a good job of throwing strikes. And we’ve played good defense to this point and haven’t thrown the ball around (for errors).”
Senior right-hander Colton Hartig notched victories in his first two starts with senior catcher Matt Reynolds calling signals from behind the plate. The newcomers in the pitching rotation who have done well are junior Carson Werrmann and freshman Brady Brooks, who also has two wins.
“We’ve had some sporadic play because of the weather,” Schweitzer said. “When you play one day and then you’re off for three days, it’s tough (for pitchers) to get in a rhythm, but they’ve all done a good job of getting ahead in the count and throwing strikes and not walking guys.”
The coach said the team’s leading hitters in the first six games were senior outfielders Cory Franzen and Ethan Kramer. The other senior veterans in the lineup are shortstop Collin Teegarden and outfielder Joe Eblin, who has also picked up a pitching victory.
“They’ve seen good pitches and haven’t missed many of them,” Schweitzer said of his team’s hitting. “It seems like every ball we hit we’ve been squaring up on it, and we’ve been very fortunate with the way we’ve hit with runners in scoring position. We’ve had a couple games where we only had six or seven hits and got 10 runs because we get key hits when guys are on base.”
Campbell County is scheduled to play three games in the Doc Morris Invitational on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, if the weather permits. On Monday, the Camels have a big home game against 10th Region rival Harrison County, which is off to a 7-0 start.
“As the schedule picks up, the competition gets much more difficult,” coach Schweitzer said. “I think that will definitely test our guys and we’ll see where we’re at.”