It’s a sunny afternoon on team picture day in Alexandria, and the prospects are just as bright for the Campbell County High School softball squad.
“Our goals are winning the district and region championships,” said sophomore Hope Hamilton, a power-hitting pitcher. “We’d love to go to the state tournament.”
Bre Tate stands next to Hamilton, who is regarded as the top local player in Kentucky’s 10th Region. The standouts are talking about the team and their coach, Sandi Kitchen, after practice.
“I think a big key to our success is coach Sandi is a great listener,” said Tate, a junior catcher. “She takes in what we have to say as a team. Individually, she’s a great person to talk to, which is a great thing to have in a coach.”
Hamilton agrees about Kitchen’s symbiotic relationship with her players and tossed out some more team goals and also gave a tip of the hat to her coach.
“We’re young, so I’d say we also need to keep the girls’ confidence up when things don’t go our way,” Hamilton said. “It’s going to take a total team effort all season long, and we have a coach with a lot of experience.”
Kitchen has been the Camels’ coach for 13 years. She also coaches volleyball at Villa Madonna. She understands the rewards of mutually beneficial and collaborative relationships. Under her guidance, the Campbell County softball team has established unquestioned dominance over the 37th District with 30 wins in a row against district opponents and six consecutive district tournament championships.
Meanwhile, as she piles up the wins, Kitchen keeps adding to her wisdom. She ranked among Kentucky’s all-time fastpitch leaders with a school-record 178 wins entering the season. The Campbell County graduate has guided the Camels to the 10th Region tournament every season she’s been head coach, but they’ve yet to advance to the state tournament. They reached the region final once in 2017.
“It’s always a tough task getting past the 10th Region,” Kitchen said. “We’ve got four or five really good teams with Harrison County, Montgomery County and Bracken County with us. We have one senior with Jaydin Glahn. She’s one of our captains, and she’s been out with an injury. But I have a bunch of talented young girls who work really hard.”
Tate, a co-captain, would love to be part of program history.
“I see very little drama this year,” Tate said. “I’ve been playing since the seventh grade. Teamwork and team bonding is the best I’ve seen.”
Hamilton, voted ninth-best 10th Region player in a preseason poll conducted by the coaches and the area’s lone representative in the Top 10, is a big key for the Camels.
“She’s really good and nowhere near her potential,” Kitchen said. “She’s also a very good volleyball player. But, if she wanted to, she could play Division I college softball. That’s how much talent she has.”
Hamilton made six pitching starts last season. She won four games while posting a 3.77 ERA and striking out 13. In the Camels’ first two weeks of action this season covering four games, Hamilton was already halfway to last season’s win total with a 2-0 record while lowering her ERA to 2.33 and surpassing last season’s strikeout total with 15.
“I love her demeanor,” Kitchen said, “and I love watching her play.”
Hamilton hit .459 with a team-leading seven home runs and 37 RBI as a freshman. In the first two weeks this season, she was on her way to surpassing those totals. Through the first four games, she led the team in batting average (.583), home runs (3) and RBI (10) as the Camels raced to a 3-1 start.
Overall team batting remains stellar under the direction of hitting instructor Bob Kitchen, the head coach’s husband. He guided Campbell County to a .405 batting average last season.
The Camels hit .358 during the first two weeks of 2024 with an upward trajectory following a 16-2 win against Mason County. Five Camels had at least two hits, including Josie Feebeck with a 4-for-4 day and Tate at 3-for-3, raising her average to .500. Samantha Perry was hitting a team-high .571. Addysen Griffin checked in at .417 and Feebeck at .385.
“Bob is really good at breaking down hitting into the smallest details,” coach Kitchen said. “He’s good at seeing things and correcting them. Coaching hitting is an ongoing process, but he studies a lot. He talks with college coaches to stay on top of everything.”
That should help the Camels as they seek to finish on top of the 10th Region.
“Winning the region would be the ultimate for these girls,” Kitchen said. “We want to do everything we can to help.”