Campeau’s son earns MVP award
ANAHEIM — Three days after guiding the Sage Hill School baseball team to a historic season, Coach Dominic Campeau Sr. watched his son Dominic Campeau Jr. play. Rarely did he get the chance to see his 18-year-old on the field this year, Campeau Sr. coached at the private school in Newport Coast and Campeau Jr. played for El Modena in Orange.
Sage Hill’s season ended with it winning the CIF Southern Section Division 6 title on Saturday. With his team’s season over, Campeau Sr. could just be a dad at his son’s game on Tuesday. It wasn’t just any game Campeau Jr. took part in, it was the Kiwanis Club of Greater Anaheim’s 49th Orange County All-Star Baseball Game for seniors at La Palma Park’s Dee Fee Field in Anaheim.
It turned out to be a memorable night for father and son.
Campeau Jr. went two for two with two runs batted in and a double, playing one of his best games of the year and doing so in front of his father. Playing amongst the county’s finest players, some of who are going to play for Cal State Fullerton, UC Irvine, UCLA and USC next season, Campeau Jr. earned the OC All-Star Game MVP award.
Campeau Jr. got the North All-Stars off to a great start. He singled in two runs during a four-run third inning, sparking the North to an 11-2 win against the South, which featured two Newport-Mesa standouts, Corona del Mar’s Evan Larsen and Newport Harbor’s Luke Genova.
“The last few weeks have been unreal,” Campeau Sr. said. “[My son] was selected to the North team and he’s starting and batting third [in the OC All-Star Game]. He was also named [to] the [Ryan Lemmon Senior Showcase featuring the Crestview and North Hills leagues against the Sea View League] for this upcoming Friday [at Windrow Community Park in Irvine]. The next day I get the Sage Hill Coach of the Year award and we won CIF on Saturday. [These have been some] of the best 10 days of my life.
“I probably see him play two or three times per season, and it’s mostly during spring break. When he doesn’t play, he comes to Sage Hill and cheers for us. He was [at UC Riverside on] Saturday when we won CIF. We cheer and support each other. He’s not just my son. He’s also my best friend. I’m his biggest fan. I’m extremely proud of him.”
Campeau Jr. said he was also proud of his dad, who in only his third year at the helm of Sage Hill led the school to an unforgettable 28-1 season.
Campeau Sr.’s team finished undefeated in league for the second straight year and it won an Orange County-record 27 consecutive games. Win No. 27 came in the section finale, a 9-0 shutout of league rival Crean Lutheran, bringing home the Lightning program’s first section championship.
Campeau Jr. was almost involved in a shutout on Tuesday. He caught the first three scoreless innings in which the North didn’t allow a hit. Seven pitchers blanked the South through eight innings.
The South didn’t record its first hit until the top of the fifth inning, when Santa Margarita’s Johnny Carr singled to right field. By then, the North led, 5-0, all but one of those runs came around to score in the third inning.
Campeau Jr. came through in the third inning for the North. He finally got a pitch to hit, after the first one he saw in the first inning plunked him on the right leg.
The left-handed hitting Campeau Jr. tagged the next pitcher he faced. He ripped a curveball down the first-base line that Larsen had little chance of gloving. Two runs scored and the North took a 3-0 lead.
The North pinch-ran for Campeau Jr., and as he headed for the dugout, his father was all smiles in the stands.
“Especially when you have a good game, it’s always nice when he’s there,” Campeau Jr. said of his dad. “He’s been my coach ever since I started playing ball [at age 4].”
Campeau Jr. is all grown up now. He’s heading to Cal State San Bernardino to continue his baseball career. He’s a catcher, the same position his father played on the Canadian national team and in the minor leagues.
Campeau Sr. knows talent, and on display in the OC All-Star Game were players who have the potential to play professionally someday.
One of those players is Larsen, who is bound for Cal State Fullerton. The CdM right-hander went 9-2 with a 1.07 earned-run average, striking out 93 and walking 17 in 78 1/3 innings this season.
Larsen, who started at first base, and grounded out and walked in his two plate appearances for the South, pitched only one inning, the ninth. The first batter he threw to was Cypress’ Dominic Fletcher, who hit a sharp comebacker to the mound that bounced off Larsen’s leg for a single. Larsen, the Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Year, shook it off and stayed in the game. The next batter was Campeau Jr., and Larsen’s first offering was a curveball that Campeau Jr. doubled to left-center field.
“He just left one up and I got lucky,” said Campeau Jr., who was one of four batters to record a hit off Larsen, helping the North score four runs in the ninth.
The ninth inning also featured Genova, who received first-team All-Sunset League utility honors for hitting .346 with three home runs and 16 RBIs, and going 6-4 as a pitcher this year. Genova, a future Santa Clara University third baseman and reliever, played first base while Larsen pitched.
Larsen and Genova will also participate in the Ryan Lemmon Senior Showcase on Saturday. Larsen is playing in the Pacific Coast League-Freeway League game at 1:30 p.m., while Genova is in the Sunset League-Trinity League game at 4:30 p.m.
Genova was able to face live pitching and make a relief appearance before his next game. He entered in the sixth inning of the OC All-Star Game, giving up two runs, two hits and one walk during his one-inning stint. During his lone plate appearance, coming in the eighth, Genova walked.
“It was a good experience,” Genova said of the OC All-Star Game and playing alongside Larsen for the first time. “It was good to play with each other, instead of against each other in a heated rivalry [like the Battle of the Bay between our schools, Newport Harbor and CdM].”
