The Campbell County High School softball team has been one of the better hitting squads in Kentucky over the last five years. The Camels flirt with a .400 team batting average on an annual basis and have ranked no worse than 13th statewide in hitting every year since the beginning of the 2021 season.
The Camels were ninth statewide in team batting average each of the last two seasons, hitting .397 last year and .405 two seasons ago. They were seventh in 2022 with a .411 average.
“We can hit. We hit the leather off the ball the other day,” coach Sandi Kitchen said. “My husband, Bob, is our hitting coach. He’s been working on improving our hitters’ exit velocity and it’s taking hold.”
Sure seems like it.
On Wednesday, the Camels annihilated a Bracken County team riding a four-game winning streak by a score that was more befitting of football. They won, 28-10 at Bracken County after trailing 8-4, and improved to 9-2. Campbell County scored 17 runs in the fifth inning to take control. The Camels belted four home runs in the contest, two each by standouts Hope Hamilton and Josie Feebeck.
“I’m going to go ahead and say 17 runs in an inning is a school record,” said Kitchen, who attended Campbell County and has been head softball coach for 12 years.
It was a stunning reversal and Kitchen’s 203rd career victory. She nailed down win No. 200 March 28 against Ryle. Bracken County walloped the Camels last year, 14-7, at Campbell County.
Hamilton, a junior, was impressed by how the Camels turned the tables on Bracken County, even though she surrendered seven earned runs in the contest.
“That just shows how much we’ve improved,” said Hamilton, a returning Northern Kentucky Softball Coaches Association Division I all-star. “It’s not just with the hitting. I think we have improved all around.”
She has a point.
On Tuesday, Campbell County destroyed Dixie Heights, 17-4, giving the Camels 45 runs in back-to-back contests. Starter Addysen Griffin combined with Hamilton on a four-hitter against a Colonels squad averaging seven runs over the previous three games.
The Bracken County contest is the only one this season in which the Camels have allowed more than four runs. The team ERA is 3.05, led by Griffin at 1.57. Griffin (4-0) is a spot starter and reliever. Hamilton (5-1) is the primary starter drawing more difficult assignments. She’s made eight starts and posted an ERA of 3.88.
“I think they’re both a lot better,” said starting catcher Moriah Price, one of three seniors. “I think they have faster pitches and they have better accuracy.”
Campbell County has won 35 consecutive games against 37th District competition and captured seven straight district tournament championships by smacking the softball all over the field and doing just enough in the pitcher’s circle. The team ERA last season was 4.35. It was 4.29 the season prior after ballooning to 6.00 in 2022.
The fact the Camels have cut the team ERA in half over the last two-plus seasons while maintaining such a robust hitting lineup is not good news to opponents. After years of trying to figure out how to slow the Camels’ bats, now foes must address how to solve their pitchers.
“That’s the hope,” Kitchen said.
And that’s where Hamilton comes in. She posted an ERA of 3.36 last season. Her ERA this season before the Bracken County game was 2.83.
“I think every year she’s been outstanding but this year she’s top level,” Price said. “She’s gotten so much stronger physically and mentally.”
This also holds true in the batter’s box where Hamilton’s exit velocity has improved by nearly 20 percent, according to team measurables.
“We take a look at it about every month or so and I think everybody’s exit velocity is better,” Hamilton said. “We’re all hitting the ball harder and putting it in play.”
A look at the numbers reveals a cadre of Camels doing damage at the plate. Every player who has more than three at bats is hitting .333 or better. Hamilton leads the way at .467 followed by Faith Whitford at .438. Feebeck, an NKSCA second-team all-star last season, and Sam Perry, a third-team pick, both are batting .400.
The team is hitting .388. Nothing new there.
Hamilton and Feebeck share team leadership with five home runs each. Twelve of Feebeck’s 14 hits have gone for extra bases. The sophomore leads the team with 19 RBI and 23 runs scored.
With 21 doubles, five triples and 11 homers after just three weeks of play, the Camels are already halfway to last season’s totals (42-11-20) achieved in 10 weeks. The math says the Camels are ahead of schedule. That’s certainly the case with pitching. Team fielding, always above average, remains solid.
Is it enough to get the Camels over the hump in the 10th Region, where they’ve never won a tournament title?
“Our region is very tough. It’s always top of the state,” Kitchen said. “But I have faith in our girls.”
Harrison County, with nearly 20 players, is unbeaten against state competition and ranked No. 8 in the latest Kentucky High School Softball Coaches poll. The Fillies have won two of the last three 10th Region crowns. Once-beaten Montgomery County is defending region champion with 20 players on roster. Returning tournament semifinalist Mason County has 24 players and George Rogers Clark has 23.
“These are big softball programs,” said Kitchen, who has 13 players. “Also, a lot of the girls at those schools play in the offseason. There are just so many good players and good teams and it’s been an obstacle.”
The Camels present obstacles, too. They have the makings of a stopper in Hamilton, who is receiving college offers, and a quality second pitcher in Griffin. As usual, there are bats galore. There’s one more to come. Senior Bre Tate, an on-base machine, has one at bat after being slowed early by an injured shoulder.
“Getting her back is big,” Kitchen said.
The Camels averaged almost 12 runs in two 10th Region tournament games last season but bowed out after giving up 13 runs to Harrison County in the semifinals. They surrendered 11 runs to Harrison County in the 2023 region semifinals. They gave up 14 to George Rogers Clark while getting eliminated in the first round in 2022.
If the Camels can whittle those run totals and keep the line moving in the batter’s box, they have a better chance to wrangle a regional crown.
“I keep telling the girls that we want to make history not repeat it,” Kitchen said. “To get to the state tournament, we need to take one more step and that’s win the region.”