Campbell County baseball coach Scott Schweitzer said his team messed up the postgame victory handshake line – half the Camels took off.
“It’s the first time we’ve done it in a while,” Schweitzer playfully said. “… It’s new things, we’ve got to learn the new things. We’ll get it.”
It was about the only thing that didn’t go well on Tuesday. Tyler Schumacher struck out nine, Will Haigis added three hits, and the Camels converted eight Highlands errors into a 6-0 win on the Bluebirds’ field.
Campbell County thus continued its quest for a second 10th Region title in three years (the Camels won in 2022 and fell to Harrison County last year) with maybe its most experienced team – 13 seniors on the roster.
The Camels had scheduled six games, but weather and the boys basketball team’s Sweet 16 run wiped out four.
“We’re still right at game count,” Schweitzer said. “We’re still on pace for 36 games. We’re not behind, I’m not concerned about that.”
Tuesday was also an example of 180-degree reversals of fortune for both the Camels and Bluebirds. Campbell County rebounded from a 7-5 home loss to Conner on March 20, while Highlands fell to 4-4 after Monday’s 7-4 win over Simon Kenton.
Schumacher befuddled Highlands (4-4) with a combination of fastballs, changeups and sliders. “He pounded the zone with three pitches, and if you’re able to pound the zone with three pitches, it makes things tough on hitters,” Schweitzer said.
Highlands was only able to collect three hits on the day.
“They’ve got Tyler Schumacher on the mound,” Highlands coach Jeremy Baioni said. “He’s as good a sophomore as you’re going to see in the state of Kentucky; he did a good job of keeping our guys off balance.”
Schumacher thought the fastball and slider were most effective.
“(With the) fastball, I could get ahead; the slider was the strikeout pitch,” Schumacher said.
Haigis was 3-for-3 with a double and a walk; he also scored Campbell County’s lone earned run in the third inning on Daxton Straus’ single. It was a whole lot better than 0-for-4 against Conner.
“I was just trying to put the bat on the ball,” Haigis said.
Campbell County (1-1) scored the only run they would need in the first inning off losing pitcher Brody Benke when Carson Clark, who walked, stole second, went to third on Schumacher’s sacrifice fly and came home on an error.
“We walked seven guys, and we hit another two or three,” Baioni said. “That’s too good of a team to allow free baserunners.”
The Camels’ most productive inning was the third – four runs on singles from Camden Tiemeier, Haigis and Straus.
The Bluebirds loaded the bases in the sixth, but Tiemeier forced Drew Barth out at third, and Schumacher caught Adam Forton looking at a third strike.
“He was able to locate that fastball away with two strikes, and our guys just kind of froze up,” Baioni said.
Highlands hits the road for the Easter holiday – the Bluebirds play in the Cal Ripken Experience March 30-April 1 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Campbell County, meanwhile, finishes the week closer to home – a home game with West Clermont on Thursday and Friday’s visit to four-time defending Ninth Region champion Beechwood.
CAMELS 6, BLUEBIRDS 0
CAMPBELL CO. 104 001 0 – 6 6 2
HIGHLANDS 000 000 0 – 0 3 8
Schumacher, Bell (7) and Schweitzer; Benke, Wiggins (3), Barth (5) and Palmer. WP-Schumacher. LP-Benke. 2B-Haigis (CC). Records: Campbell Co. 1-1, Highlands 4-4.