By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Over the last three years, Lucas Anthrop earned varsity letters in football, basketball and baseball at Campbell County High School, but none of those teams won a region championship until Sunday.
Anthrop took the mound in the 10th Region baseball final and didn’t allow a run in six innings during a 2-0 victory over Montgomery County that puts the Camels in the state tournament for the first time since 2022.
“It’s my best win ever,” Anthrop said amid Sunday’s post-game celebration on Brossart’s field. “Being so close in basketball and baseball so many times and finally being able to do it my senior year, especially being on the mound, it’s a special feeling.”
Campbell County (25-13) scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning and maintained that lead with good pitching and error-free defense to post its fifth consecutive shutout during district and region the playoffs.
The Camels will play 5th Region champion LaRue County (30-8) in the first round of the state tournament at 10 a.m. Friday at Legends Field in Lexington.
Winning the region is a first-time thrill for all 10 seniors on the Campbell County roster. None of them played on the 2022 baseball team that made it to the state quarterfinals.
“Typically, when you get 10 seniors that have been together since pretty much the eighth grade, it’s a pretty fun experience,” said Campbell County coach Scott Schweitzer. “The locker room, the dugout, the bus rides, they have so much fun. I’m looking forward to having at least another week with these guys, if not two.”
The 16-team state tournament will be played over two weeks. The teams that win two games later this week will advance to the final four June 12-13 at the University of Kentucky’s field.
The two runs Campbell County scored in the 10th Region final came with two outs in the first inning. Senior outfielder Jackson Bittner led off the inning with a single. After two strikeouts, he raced home on a double down the right field line by junior first baseman Gavin Kramer.
Senior catcher Cam Tiemeyer then laced a single into the outfield. As Kramer rounded third base, he didn’t see the stop sign from coach Schweitzer and slid across home plate as the catcher bobbled the ball.
Montgomery County pitcher Evan Copher didn’t give up a hit over the next six innings. But the Indians weren’t able to score off Anthrop. They left nine runners on base, including six in scoring position.
“Montgomery County played a pretty flawless game, too,” coach Schweitzer said. “We got a couple of big hits in the first. Cam and Gavin both had huge hits to score those runs and we held on and made it through.”
The coach put sophomore Tip Mercurio on the mound in the seventh inning. Montgomery County had runners on second and third with one out and their No. 3 and No. 4 hitters coming to the plate, but the reliever retired both of them.
“I was so nervous because last year we were up 2-0 and they came back and won,” Kramer said of the region semifinal game between the two teams last season. “We put them away this time. We’ve got 10 seniors this year, so everybody has been here before and we won it.”
The Campbell County players named to the 10th Region all-tournament were Kramer, Alford, Mercurio and Tyler Schumacher, who pitched two shutouts during the tournament. The Scott players who earned all-tournament honors were juniors Jay Race and Andy Reed.
MONTGOMERY COUNTY 000 000 0 — 0 5 1
CAMPBELL COUNTY 200 000 x — 2 3 0
WP — Lucas Anthrop (7 Ks). LP — Evan Copher. (5 Ks).
HITTING LEADERS: MC — Carter Poe 2-2. CC — Gavin Kramer 2B. RECORDS: Campbell County 25-13. Montgomery County 30-8.