BY JEFF FALK
PALMYRA – Depth. It’s what separates Campbelltown from many of the other entries in the Lebanon County American Legion Baseball circuit.
For C-town, ‘Next man up’ isn’t some worn-out slogan. It’s a team approach to the game of baseball.
On a warm Monday night at Palmyra High School, Campbelltown’s team depth was the difference, as it shaded Fredericksburg 2-0, in a tightly-contested, well-played affair. A number of reserves stepped up for Post 831, which also received another strong outing from starting hurler Braeden Drescher.
Despite being at less than full strength, Campbelltown moved to 8-1 and strengthened its hold on first place in the West Division of t he Lebanon County American Legion Baseball League. Fredericksburg slipped to 2-5 in the West Division.
Back on June 4th, Campbelltown had defeated Fredericksburg 8-4 at Earl Wenger Memorial Field.
“Tonight, we didn’t have our starting outfield,” said Drescher. “Basically, we had three new outfielders. Everybody expects to play during the legion season. It’s the mentality of ‘next guy up.’ Everybody comes ready to play.”
“They weren’t missing their key guys,” said Fredericksburg head coach Tim Schaeffer of Campbelltown. “They had their key guys here. Two of their key hits were off bad pitches. But their key guys didn’t hurt us. And those two balks didn’t help us.
“We need to pick up the enthusiasm,” Schaeffer added. “It looks like we’re tired. They (Campbelltown) played a good game. We’ve got to hit the ball to get on base, and we’ve got to get on base to score runs.”
Drescher certainly took his opportunity to step up to heart.
The lanky right-hander was on cruise control from the very first pitch, and he allowed just one hit – Trevor Zohn’s one-out single in the top of the fourth inning – whiffed six and walked one. Among his 93 pitches, Drescher recorded seven outs in the air and seven outs on the ground.
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