Campbell County dodged the last punch.
The Camels held off a last-ditch effort comeback from Scott, winning 6-5, for their third
consecutive 37th District baseball Championship.
The Camels were sitting comfortably until the seventh inning when the Eagles gave it all
they had. Campbell County was neither rattled nor surprised.
“Every time we played them, they don’t give up,” Campbell County coach Scott
Schweitzer said. “Coach Kevin Goins does a good job getting his kids prepared. They
had the big double late and then a wild pitch, suddenly the tying run was at third.”
Scott nearly dug themselves into a hole that was almost too deep.
Campbell County opened up with a hit by pitch, base hit and two walks to draw first blood. Eagles starting pitcher Kyle Groneck was quickly replaced by Brock Ronnebaum who struggled early on, but found his rhythm as the game went on.
The Camels put three more runs up on Camden Tiemeier’s infield single scoring one and Spencer Voss’s two-run single. It was a 4-0 game after an inning of play.
Zach Franzen did his part on the mound. The 37th District Tournament MVP struck
out six batters and walked one. He also had an RBI double. Franzen limited the Eagles offense through six innings to five hits and two runs.
“I felt good throughout the game,” Franzen said. “I settled in early and got the nerves
out. In a game like this, nerves can sneak up on you and they did. You don’t feel like
it going in until you start the game.”
Trying for the complete game, Franzen ran into trouble in the seventh when he hit two batters and allowed a single before being replaced by Tyler Schumacher.
Schumacher entered with the bases loaded and one out in a 6-2 ballgame.
On a flyout, Porter Huston tagged up, scoring the Eagles’ third run. Zack Sparks
doubled on a line drive that also scored Drew Grindstaff and Brady Smith. Suddenly,
it was a one-run game with runners in scoring position.
Scott would do no more, as a pop out to first base ended the contest.
“Tyler is a sophomore on the mound,” Schweitzer said. “The kid has got ice water in
his veins. He’s pumping fastballs, we get lucky and get the final out.”
The Camels two runs in the bottom of the fifth proved to be vital. After Will Haigis reached on an error and Schumacher singled, Franzen doubled and brought home Schumacher, Haigis scoring earlier in the at-bat on a wild pitch.
The Eagles fall to 17-18. Even with the loss, there was some positivity from their side.
In the regular season, Campbell County won 20-5 in four innings.
“Campbell didn’t know what to expect from us,” Scott coach Kevin Goins said. “We
had walked the first eight guys (in the first meeting) and the game immediately got away from us. We knew what to expect from Campbell, it’s always going to be a dogfight. I’m super proud of our guys. In the last few seasons, when we’ve been down a little bit, go
ahead and turn the lights out. This group has grit and just keeps fighting.”
Both teams will now shift their focus to the 10th Region tournament at Bourbon County that starts on Saturday. The Eagles will be a two-seed and will face either Harrison County, Bracken County or the George Rogers Clark/Bourbon County winner of the 40th District.
Campbell County improves to 20-12 and punches their ticket as a one-seed in the
tournament. They’re looking at a matchup against either Nicholas County, Mason County or the George Rogers Clark/Bourbon County loser.
CAMELS 6, EAGLES 5
SCOTT — 001-001-3 — 5-6-3
CAMPBELL COUNTY — 400-020-x — 6-4-3
2B — (S) Sparks 2, (CC) Franzen
WP —Franzen. LP — Groneck.
Records: Scott 17-18, Campbell County 20-12
