The 10th Region champion Campbell County Camels baseball team (24-10 overall) has been a fixture at the state tournament in recent years.
Campbell County made its fourth appearance since 2016 Friday in the first round against the 15th Region champion Johnson Central Golden Eagles (16-22). But the Camels had not won a state tournament game since besting Bullitt East, 1-0, in the state semifinals in nine innings on June 17, 2016 on their way to a state runner-up finish that year losing 1-0 to Louisville St. Xavier in the title game.
That changed Friday with a 14-2 run-rule victory of the Golden Eagles in five innings on the turf at the University of Kentucky’s Kentucky Proud Park. Campbell County faces the 1st Region McCracken County Mustangs (34-6) on Saturday at 8:30 p.m.
The Camels came out from the beginning playing their game knowing the Golden Eagles came in hot winning the 15th Region. Johnson Central knocked off Lawrence County, 4-1 to win it last week.
“(Johnson Central Head Coach) Shawn Hall runs one heck of a program over there,” said Scott Schweitzer, Campbell County head coach. “Someone told me they’ve been to eight straight region championship games winning it five times. We have a lot of respect for them.”
Campbell County batted an impressive 12 for 26 overall and took advantage of 10 walks. The Camels faced six different Johnson Central pitchers. Junior starter Hunter Blevins pitched one and two-third innings. But no one pitched longer than that.
“I didn’t have to tell (the Camel batters) anything,” Schweitzer said. “They came out ready to play. We know if we play our game, we have a chance against anybody.”
The top of the Campbell County line-up did a lot of the damage. Junior third baseman Evan Clark led the way going 4 for 4 with two runs batted in and three runs scored. Junior shortstop Jake Gross went 2 for 3 with a double, four RBI and one run scored. Senior center fielder Greg Vineyard went 2 for 4 with one double, one RBI and scored three runs. Junior right fielder Brayden Wells went 2 for 2 with two runs scored. Senior left fielder Caeleb James added a double scoring two.
“It all starts in the on-deck circle,” Wells said. “You have to adjust to the speed and get your timing down. Once you’re in the box, it’s just see your pitch and swing. That’s all you can do. When we get up, we keep the foot on the gas pedal. Once we let up, we start making errors. That’s what hurts us.”
Sophomore catcher Parker Schweitzer walked three times and freshman Carson Clark ran for him all three times and scored twice. Gross and senior Jake Napier walked two times each.
“(Campbell County assistant coach Dave Shepard) and (Coach Schweitzer) tell me to step off, get more, get less,” Carson Clark said. “You just have to trust your coaches. You have to pay attention. You have to know your role.”
Campbell County junior Max Lause (7-3) pitched another complete game. He struck out four, walked two and allowed just three hits and no earned runs.
The Camels scored twice in the top of the first and never looked back. Vineyard doubled and moved to third on an Evan Clark single before Gross walked to load the bases. One out later, senior second baseman Tyler Fowler grounded into a fielder’s choice scoring Vineyard. All hands were safe when the Johnson Central shortstop missed the bag at second. Senior first baseman Jake Napier then hit a sacrifice fly to right to score Evan Clark putting the Camels up 2-0.
Campbell County scored three runs with two out in the top of the second. Vineyard and Evan Clark singled with two out. Gross then hit a blooper to left. Johnson Central left fielder Matt Crum tried to make a diving catch. But the ball deflected into foul territory allowing Vineyard and Evan Clark to score and Gross wound up at second with the double.
Senior designated hitter Zack Riley then singled to center to score Gross. The Camels led 5-0 going to the bottom of the second.
The Camels then made it 9-0 in the top of the third. Campbell County loaded the bases. Then after a force play at home, Vineyard walked scoring Carson Clark and Evan Clark singled to score Wells. Gross then lined a single to right scoring Vineyard and James.
The Golden Eagles scored two unearned runs in the bottom of the third with two out. Senior Keygan Pelfrey hit a high pop up just behind the infield dirt between first and second. Fowler tried to make a play. But it dropped allowing sophomores Cameron Kelsey and Ethan McCarty to score. But Fowler made up for it making other routine plays including the final out and contributing an RBI at the plate.
“Even if I do bobble the ball, I just gather myself in that quick little second I have just making sure I grab the ball,” Fowler said. “Then I make sure I get a good throw in before (the opposing runner) gets there. How fast he’s getting down the first base line is generally how fast I go. We have a turf football field. We’ve practiced on that for two days doing all our field work and bunt plays. We’ve gotten used to it.”
Campbell County came back and scored five times in the top of the fourth to make the final score. The Camels loaded the bases with one out. James lined one to center scoring Napier and Carson Clark to give Campbell County an 11-2 lead.
Then with two out, Evan Clark singled to score Wells before James scored on a Golden Eagles error to put the Camels up 13-2. Fowler then reached on another Johnson Cental error scoring Evan Clark to make the final score.
McCracken County knocked off Hazard, 16-9 in the third game of the day. The Mustangs finished state runner-up last year losing 10-0 in five innings in the state championship game last year.