Playoffs or Not, Campelltown Just Keeps on Keeping on

4 years ago
Playoffs or Not, Campelltown Just Keeps on Keeping on

Jul 19, 2019
Jeff Falk
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Baseball, FEATURE STORIES
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BY JEFF FALK

EPHRATA – To realize success at the regional tournament, teams must navigate some initial hurdles – its aura, its power to take you out of your comfort zone, its ability to disrupt your continuity and consistency.

For Campbelltown, it was just more of the same. And that was a good thing.

On a steamy Friday afternoon at Ephrata’s War Memorial Field, Campbelltown’s magical summer spilled over into the regional postseason, with a 7-5 triumph over Mechanicsubrg, in the opening round of the eight-team, double-elimination Region Four tournament. After racing out to an early 6-0 lead, Campbelltown held off Mechanicsburg behind a gutsy route-going outing by starter Braeden Drescher.

With the outcome, the Lebanon County champions moved to 19-2 overall and into Saturday’s 7 p.m. winner’s bracket contest, versus the winner between host Ephrata and York County runner-up New Oxford. It was also Campbelltown’s seventh straight triumph, four of which have been of the playoff variety.

Mechanicsburg, the runner-up from Cumberland County, slipped to 11-6 and into the consolation bracket of the event.

“It’s a regional championship that we’d love to have,” said Campbelltown skipper Tim Morgan. “This whole team is coming back next year. But (Brian) Coburn and (Christian) Kreiser weren’t here today. If we can survive another day, they’re coming back. When they’re not here it changes the chemistry of the team.”

“We’re trying to win it all,” said outfielder Trevor Binner, who drove in three of the Campbelltown runs, “go to states and win that too. We thought we had a good chance coming into this. We thought we could do well.

“It’s really important to win the first one,” continued Binner. “You just have to have confidence in yourself. We play at 7 (p.m.) tomorrow, we’ll get some rest and hopefully go out and win that one too.”

At the outset, Campbelltown appeared poised to blow Mechanicsburg away.

In the top of the opening inning, Gage Miller’s lead-off single and Kasey Shughart’s sacrifice paved the way for a Binner RBI-triple and an Austin Ball RBI-single, and C-town’s 2-0 lead. Then in the top of the second, Post 831 was back at it again.

A two-run double from Binner and another run-producing safety from Baal made it 6-0. That stage had been set by walks to Shughart and Drescher, Ben Slusser being hit by a pitch and a wild pitch.

“It’s a pattern we’ve been getting into,” said Morgan. “We come out gates swinging. Being a coach, you’re feeling pretty good. At that point, you hope you can get more runs and keep the lead.”

“The bats were hot at the beginning,” said Binner. “They just went cold. Drescher threw a really nice game. He kept them (Mechanicsburg) out of it and he kept us in it.”

Mechanicsburg plated runs in its second, third, four and fifth at-bats against Drescher, including Sam Zercher’s home run to left field that pulled it to within 6-5 of the lead. But a tiring Drescher seemed to bear down after that.

Among his complete-game performance were 96 pitches, seven strikeouts and a lone walk.

“I give a ton of credit to Drescher,” said Morgan. “He really dug deep to get those final outs. We didn’t catch the ball very good on the infield, and that led to runs.

“But our wheels were spinning,” added Morgan. “We had all kinds of ideas of what to do. We were one batter away from going in a different direction.”

“He gutted things out,” said Binner of Drescher. “It was really hot. He got tired and then he had to settle down. But he was the right man for that situation.

“I think in our lineup, we have guys who can fill in and come through,” Binner continued. “We had some guys missing, but there’s a reason we were 18-2. You’ve just got to fill in and keep doing jobs.”

In addition to Drescher’s hurling, it was an insurance run in the top of the seventh that helped Campbelltown stem Mechanicsburg’s tide.

Lead-off free passes to Binner and Baal got things going. A sacrifice bunt by Cameron Dubbs kept them going and a sacrifice fly from Jake Wagner finished it.

“If it would’ve gotten to 6-6, I think we would’ve had to get the big bats out faster,” said Binner. “But we had faith in our pitcher.

“The reason our bats cooled down was because we felt complacent,” continued Binner. “But when they got it to 6-5, we knew we had to go kick in and get it going again.”

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2019 Campbelltown Results

Day	Date	Time	Status	Score	Visitors	Home	Venue
Fri	5/31/2019	6:00 pm	W	0-8	Annville	Campbelltown	Palmyra High School
Tue	6/4/2019	7:00 pm	W	8-4	Campbelltown	Fredericksburg	Earl Wenger Memorial Field
Fri	6/7/2019	6:00 pm	W	16-2	Campbelltown	Richland	Lyle Krall Stadium @ Elco High School
Wed	6/12/2019	6:00 pm	W	10-1	Campbelltown	Myerstown	Myerstown
Tue	6/18/2019	6:00 pm	W	0-1	Richland	Campbelltown	Palmyra High School
Wed	6/19/2019	6:00 pm	W	0-10	Myerstown	Campbelltown	Palmyra High School
Fri	6/21/2019	7:00 pm	W	6-5	Campbelltown	Ephrata	War Memorial Field
Sun	6/23/2019	6:00 pm	L	5-0	Ephrata	Campbelltown	Palmyra High School
Mon	6/24/2019	6:00 pm	W	0-2	Fredericksburg	Campbelltown	Palmyra High School
Tue	6/25/2019	7:00 pm	W	0-10	Conrad Weiser	Campbelltown	In The Net
Wed	6/26/2019	6:00 pm	W	5-2	Campbelltown	Annville	Annville High School
Thu	6/27/2019	6:00 pm	W	2-6	5th Ward	Campbelltown	Palmyra High School
Fri	6/28/2019	8:00 pm	W	7-0	Campbelltown	Conrad Weiser	Womelsdorf
Mon	7/1/2019	7:00 pm	L	5-6	Campbelltown	Fredericksburg	Earl Wenger Memorial Field
Tue	7/2/2019	6:00 pm	W	3-4	Annville	Campbelltown	Palmyra High School
Wed	7/10/2019	5:30 pm	W	13-1	Campbelltown	5th Ward	In The Net
Wed	7/10/2019	6:00 pm	W	0-5	5th Ward	Campbelltown	In The Net

Lebanon County American Legion League
Past Champions

2019 – Campbelltown

2018 – Richland

2017 – Fredericksburg

2016 – Annville

2015 – Myerstown

2014 – Myerstown

2013 – Campbelltown

2012 – Campbelltown

2011 – Annville

2010 – Campbelltown
2009 — Fredericksburg
2008 — Fredericksburg
2007 — Richland
2006 — Richland

2005 — Richland
2004 — Annville
2003 — Fredericksburg
2002 — Richland
2001 — Fredericksburg
2000 — Fredericksburg
1999 — Fredericksburg
1998 — Palmyra
1997 — Fredericksburg
1996 — Fredericksburg
1995 — Fredericksburg
1994 — Fredericksburg
1993 — Fredericksburg*
1992 — Palmyra
1991 — Palmyra
1990 — Fredericksburg
1989 — Fredericksburg
1988 — Palmyra

1987 — Fredericksburg
1986 — Fredericksburg*
1985 — Myerstown
1984 — Richland
1983 — Lebanon
1982 — Lebanon
1981 — Fredericksburg*
1980 — Richland
1979 — Fredericksburg
1978 — Myerstown
1977 — Fredericksburg
1976 — Fredericksburg
1975 — Myerstown
1974 — Lebanon
1973 — Fredericksburg

1972 — Myerstown*
1971 — Myerstown*
1970 — Annville*
1969 — Annville*
1968 — Myerstown
1967 — Myerstown
1966 — Myerstown
1965 — Myerstown
1964 — Richland
1963 — Lebanon
1962 — Richland
1961 — Richland*
1960 — Not Contested
1959 — Fredericksburg
1958 — Fredericksburg
1957 — Fredericksburg
1956 — Lebanon

1955 — Myerstown
1954 — Jonestown*
1953 — Myerstown
1952 — Palmyra*
1951 — Palmyra
1950 — Palmyra
1949 — Annville
1948 — Myerstown*
1947 — Lebanon
1946 — Myerstown
1945 — Not Contested (World War II)
1944 — Not Contested (World War II)
1943 — Not Contested (World War II)
1942 — Not Contested (World War II)
1941 — Lebanon*
1940 — Myerstown
1939 — Myerstown
1938 — Myerstown*
1937 — Lebanon*
1936 — Lebanon
1935 — Annville
1934 — Annville
1933 — Myerstown
1932 — Lebanon*
1931 — Orioles*
1930 — Fifth Ward
1929 — Progressive
* Denotes regional champions
Note — The 1937 Lebanon squad was the only team from the county to win a state title. The 1981 Fredericksburg, the
1948 Myerstown and the 1938 Myerstown clubs were all state runners-up.