Noah Brewer of Campbell County, right, slides into second base ahead of the tag by Beechwood shortstop Nick Jackman during Friday’s game at Beechwood. (Photo by Dale Dawn)
By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
The two teams with the best records in Northern Kentucky high school baseball faced off on Friday, but the showdown wasn’t very suspenseful.
Campbell County defeated Beechwood, 8-3, behind a strong pitching performance by Colton Hartig. The senior right-hander didn’t allow a hit until the sixth inning and completed the game with nine strikeouts.
Campbell County pitcher Colton Hartig did not give up a hit until the sixth inning in Friday’s game at Beechwood. (Photo by Dale Dawn)
The victory lifted Campbell County’s record to 15-1-1 while Beechwood is now 14-4.
“He was very dominate,” Campbell County coach Scott Schweitzer said of Hartig’s performance. “He stayed down in the (strike) zone and commanded his off-speed pitches and change-ups for strikes. (Beechwood) is a very good hitting baseball team, but he got ahead in the count and did what he had to do to finish them off.”
Last season, Hartig was a pitcher and third baseman on Campbell County’s state runner-up team that posted a 29-11 record. He’s one of six returning starters on the current roster that has outscored its first 17 opponents by a 163-47 margin.
“Everybody’s hitting the ball for some reason, and I love it,” Hartig said. “As a pitcher, when you get everybody hitting behind you, it’s awesome.”
Campbell County scored eight runs in the first three innings of Friday’s game to give Hartig a comfortable lead and he took care of the rest. After giving up a walk in the first inning, he retired the next 13 batters he faced before getting tagged for three runs on three hits in the bottom of the sixth.
Returning to the mound in the seventh inning, Hartig struck out the first two batters and got the final out on a ground ball to third base. The win lifted the Transylvania University recruit’s pitching record to 3-0 this season.
“I don’t think I really threw that many bad pitches except the few that they hit,” Hartig said. “I was just keeping it out of the hitting zone. You can’t get (pitches) up and let them hit it out.”
Hartig was locating his pitches so well that he seldom fell behind in the count. He retired six batters on a called third strike by clipping the outside corner of the plate with a throw.
“(Hartig) was throwing good pitches and we chased some too,” said Beechwood coach Bob Mullins. “You just can’t chase pitches against good pitchers. They’re already hard enough to hit.”
Campbell County’s leading hitter was junior first baseman Luke Oehrle. He went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles against Beechwood starting pitcher Devon Johnson, who went five innings.
The Camels scored five runs in the second inning to take a 6-0 lead. A single by senior shortstop Collin Teegarden knocked in the last two runs. In the third inning, a two-run double by senior outfielder Corey Franzen put the Camels ahead 8-0.
Beechwood shortstop Nick Jackman got the first hit off Hartig in the sixth inning. After the lead-off batter drew a walk, Jackman hit a high chopper that the shortstop fielded near the outfield grass, but his throw to first was too late to get Jackman.
A two-out single by Beechwood sophomore outfielder Logan Castleman scored the Tigers’ first run of the game. Sophomore third baseman Dylan Doverspike then stepped to the plate and laced a two-run double to make the score 8-3. But that’s where the home team’s rally ended.
CAMPBELL CO. 152 000 0 — 8 12 0
BEECHWOOD 000 003 0 — 3 3 0
WP — Hartig (9 Ks). LP — Johnson. HITTING LEADERS: CC — Franzen 2B, 2 RBI; Teegarden 2-4, 2 RBI; Reynolds 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI; Oehrle 3-4, 2 2B; Gray 2-3. B — Doverspike 2B, 2 RBI. RECORD: Campbell County 15-1-1; Beechwood 14-4.
