Camden overcame a shorthanded 9-man squad on Wednesday
night, besting the Springboro Mariners by a final tally of
11-2 at Oak Grove Park. Despite the low numbers, the
Redlegs pounded out 16 hits while committing just one
defensive error in the contest.
The short version of the tale is that Camden played solidly
all the way around, with Ben Schooler playing the role of
“one man wrecking crew” all night long.
After the Redlegs threatened but left two runners on in the
first, they jumped out to a commanding 5-0 lead in the top
of the 2nd. Chris Flaherty reached on an error with one
out, followed by a single by James Robinson. Kevin Campbell
then sent a double down the left field line to score the
first run. Jacob Robinson then delivered an RBI with a
groundball out, scoring the elder Robinson from 3rd. Max
Ramsey and Ben Schooler then delivered consecutive RBI
singles and Matt Mattice added on with an RBI base hit in
his 2nd at bat of the inning.
The lead was extended to 6-0 when Schooler launched an RBI
double in the top of the 3rd, scoring Campbell who had
reached on an error earlier in the inning.
After two quiet innings, Camden exploded for 5 more runs in
the 6th. Ramsey started things off with a double, Schooler
singled, leading to back-to-back RBI base hits by Mike
Hartman and Tyler Schrock. Matt Mattice then hit a line
drive into right field, but the Mariners right fielder was
able to gather it quickly and deliver to 2nd to eliminate a
runner. Camden stayed on the offensive, as Flaherty walked
followed by an RBI base hit by James Robinson. Jacob
Robinson then played add on with a 2-run base hit to finish
off the scoring.
On the other side of the ball, Schooler was quietly putting
together a fantastic outing. He was perfect through 4
innings, only allowing the first Mariners baserunner in the
bottom of the 5th on a hit by pitch. He struck out the next
batter before inducing two infield pop ups to end the
inning. A great charging play by short stop Tyler Schrock
kept the no-hitter intact in the bottom of the 6th.
Schooler started the 7th with a strikeout, but then Parker
Liston and Chris Conley each worked a walk to put two on
with one out. The Mariners runners then worked a double
steal, and the first runner was able to score on an errant
throw. Schooler struck the next batter out to keep the no-
hitter alive. With two outs in the bottom of the 7th, Trent
Collins punched an RBI single through the left side of the
infield to break up the no hitter and score the Mariners 2nd
run of the evening. Schooler ended the game by recording
his 10th strikeout on the night. All in all, Schooler
picked up the complete game victory while allowing just the
1 hit and 1 earned run to go along with the 10 punchouts.
In addition, Ben went 4 for 4 at the plate with 2 RBI, a
double, walk, and 2 runs scored.
Schooler now leads the lead in strikeouts by a wide margin
by piling up 32 through 4 games. He has been heavily relied
upon early in the season, pitching a whopping 79% of the
Redlegs innings thus far.
Next up for Camden is the Mad River Machine in a double
header on May 21st at Carroll High School. Games times will
be at 1:00pm and 4:00pm.
Boxscore
| J Robinson | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| M Ramsey | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| B Schooler | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| M Hartman | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| T Schrock | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| M Mattice | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| C Flaherty | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| J Robinson | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| K Campbell | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
2B: Ramsey; Schooler; Robinson; Campbell