Campbell Hall Buzzes Way to League Title

There was a buzz Tuesday in the Campbell Hall dugout after the Vikings routed Montclair Prep, 19-3, to clinch the Delphic League baseball championship at Mission Hills Senior Little League.

“We’re going to scalp him,” shortstop Jarret Tarnol said.

Coach Doug Latta promised his players he’d let them shave his head if they won the league championship. He better prepare to look like Shaquille O’Neal very soon.

“It’s going off tomorrow,” shouted pitcher Michael Frost.

The Vikings (16-6, 9-0 in league) took advantage of 18 hits and 12 walks to turn a league title showdown into a mismatch.

Blake Lichtig had four hits and Dan Bruckner, Aaron Kerr, Keyah Behnia and Frost had three hits apiece.

Montclair Prep (14-7, 7-2) trailed, 6-3, after three innings and caught ace right-hander Frost without his best stuff. But Mountie Seth Epstein (5-2) walked eight before being pulled with one out in the fourth and Montclair Prep never recovered.

The only suspense came in the sixth inning when a foul ball landed in the left-field parking lot close to the Jaguar owned by the father of Campbell Hall third baseman Sean Jody.

Latta was dripping wet after a bucket of ice was dumped on his head. Much has changed for a Vikings baseball program that is suddenly dominating foes.

“This is exciting,” Bruckner said. “This is new for us. Four years ago, we were getting killed in league. Now we’re putting ourselves on the map.”

Bruckner, a senior first baseman, is no dumb jock. He scored 1420 on the Scholastic Assessment Test, has a 4.6 grade-point average and is committed to attend USC for the next eight years so he can become a doctor, like his mother and father. And he’s having the time of his life switch hitting.

In the second inning, he hit a home run to right field from the right side. Later in the game, he had a two-run single and three-run double from the left side.

With the exception of some shaky fielding in the first inning, when the Vikings committed three errors, Campbell Hall showed why it hopes to be a Southern Section Division V title contender.

Tarnol is a solid shortstop, the lineup is full of hitters and Frost (8-0) is close to unbeatable.

Over the last two seasons, Frost’s record is 19-2.

This season he has walked only 14 batters in 49 1/3 innings with 71 strikeouts. In Delphic League play, he has 17 hits in 26 at-bats.

Last week, he accepted a scholarship to Trinity College in San Antonio, an NCAA Division III school.

On Tuesday, he scattered six hits, struck out seven and walked two.