Campbell County has had Nicholas County’s number for a while now.
The Camels have ended the Bluejackets’ season for the sixth time since 2011,
courtesy of an 11-0 win in the 10th Region tournament quarterfinals at Bourbon
County on Wednesday.
Just like consistency has been a factor in the series between the two teams, it was
also the key to Campbell County’s win.
“I told them to just throw strikes and be consistent,” Campbell County coach Scott
Schweitzer said. “Chris Bramley has been so consistent for us all year in throwing
strikes. We started off rocky in the first inning with a couple of errors on defense
and he still makes a 10-pitch inning with five outs essentially. We had to continue to
pound the zone and it gave us the best opportunity to win the game.”
The Camels pushed their two-error first inning aside by responding with five runs.
Four batters were walked, one hit by a pitch, and three connected for a hit. The
entire lineup made an appearance at the plate.
Camden Tiemeier’s performance commenced with a two-RBI single, a stolen base,
and a run in the frame.
“It was just a level of confidence,” Tiemeier said. “It’s crucial to build that. The first at-
bat is most critical because it really sets my mindset for the game. It helps me
compete at my following at-bat and helps me adjust my approach going forward.”
The third basemen had an error early on, but it was outshone by his night at the
plate, where he went 2-for-2, totaling four RBI and providing a run.
While the offense did their job, so did Bramley. Facing 20 batters, he
threw a collective count of 47 strikes and struck out two. Only one walk and two hits
were allowed.
“I was feeling good,” Bramley said. “Anytime you can be efficient and get outs it’s a
good time. I tried to stay the same and do exactly that. That’s all that matters.”
Where Campbell County excelled, the Bluejackets stumbled.
Nicholas County tried out four pitchers but never found a rhythm. Oscar Saucedo
took the mound to start but conceded four runs while walking three, surrendering a
hit and striking out one.
“He’s a senior and thrown well for us this year, but he’s had two bad outings. One
earlier in the season and tonight,” Nicholas County coach Josh Earlywine said. “I
think he was trying to be too fine. I was hoping to keep them off balance, with weak
groundballs or pop-ups, but you have to throw it across the plate to do that and he
couldn’t find his own.”
As a pitching staff, 11 hits were allowed, seven batters were walked, and three
strikeouts were secured.
“Anytime you get free baserunners it gives us an opportunity.” Schweitzer said, “You
can hear us yelling from the dugout ‘free runners.’ Guys get hits and move things
around. You put more pressure on them, and things start to unravel and unfold.”
After the initial inning, the Camels surged, adding six additional runs to their tally,
with two in the second and four more in the third.
Zach Franzen was rewarded with a run that resulted from an error and Nate
Delaney took the other from a Camden Tiemeier line-drive single in the second.
The final four runs were sparked by a Delaney two-run RBI single, followed by his
own score, and a run by Tyler Schumacher with the bases loaded.
The Bluejackets’ two hits would come from Jayden Robinson with a single in the top
of the third inning and a single from Wyatt Clark in the top of the fifth inning.
“We knew we were going to see one of Bramley’s best,” Earlywine said. “We didn’t hit
anything hard, but we had just two strikeouts in five innings, they just make plays.”
Robinson was named to the all-tournament team.
The Bluejacket season comes to an end at 16-17.
Campbell County advances to the semifinals for the sixth consecutive season, where
they are set to face Bourbon County on Thursday night at 8 p.m.
CAMELS 11, BLUEJACKETS 0 (5 INNINGS)
NICHOLAS COUNTY — 000-00x-x — 0-2-3
CAMPBELL COUNTY — 524-0xx-x — 11-11-2
WP — Bramley. LP — Saucedo.
Records: Nicholas County 16-17, Campbell County 21-12
