Campbell's Eugene Powers (right) slides safely into home plate before North Pemiscot catcher Phillip Palmer can tag him during the second inning of Wednesday's Tri-County Conference Tournament championship baseball game at Wardell. [Click to enlarge]

WARDELL, Mo. -- After going 5-10 in the fall and struggling through injuries earlier this spring, people may have started to overlook the Campbell Camels.

Big mistake.

"A lot of people counted us out," Campbell coach Justin Shell said. "We weren't playing real good baseball. Sam (Bader) wasn't around in the fall due to an injury. We got him back. We've kind of solidified our pitching a little bit. We're throwing the ball over the plate, we're fielding groundballs and we're scoring 5-6 runs a game."

Campbell's Cale Weeks hits a groundball to drive home a run during the first inning of Wednesday's Tri-County Conference Tournament championship baseball game against North Pemiscot at Wardell. [Click to enlarge]

That resurgence continued here Wednesday, as the Camels downed the North Pemiscot Mustangs, 4-1, in the championship game of the Tri-County Conference Tournament.

Campbell relied heavily on small ball Wednesday, connecting for just three singles but stealing four bases and driving in two runs on outs.

"On a windy day like today, it's going to be difficult to string a whole bunch of hits together. We got some guys that can run. We were able to steal some bases and we were able to move some runners. We had guys putting the baseball in play with people at third base to score runs."

Said North Pemiscot coach Jamie Johnson: "They did a good job today. They just outplayed us. They did things right, moved guys over and they just produced more than we did today. That's the story of the ballgame today."

Another story Wednesday was Camels' hurler Jake Tinnon, who issued seven walks but otherwise held the Mustangs to just two hits and pitched his way out of several jams on the day.

"He struggled a little bit the first inning," Shell said. "We've really focused with the weather that we had today of trying to get him to just throw the ball over the plate, let them hit it and try to get guys out early in the count. In the middle to late innings, he really settled down and did a good job for us."

North Pemiscot (13-3) scored its only run in the top of the first inning, as John Jackson drew a leadoff walk, stole second and third and came home on a balk.

Campbell answered in the bottom of the inning, as Kyle Matthews scored on a grounder to shortstop by Cale Weeks to tie the game.

The Camels took the lead for good in the second inning when Dylan Lynn singled to left with two out to drive in Eugene Powers with the go-ahead run.

"Dylan's a kid -- he's young, he's only a sophomore -- and he's got the potential to hit the baseball," said Shell. "We're starting to get contributions from everybody in our lineup. That's how we've got an opportunity to score every inning now."

Meanwhile, the Mustangs struggled at the dish, getting just one runner past second after the first inning.

"We didn't take very good advantage of the walks today," Johnson said. "We didn't have very many good at-bats. I guess you got to tip your hat to (Tinnon) -- he did a good job. We didn't have very many quality at-bats today."

Lynn, Powers and Zach Jackson had the Camels' lone hits, while Powers scored twice and Lynn drove in two runs.

Josh Tomlin and Phillip Palmer had North Pem's only hits, with Tomlin doubling down the right-field line in the top of the third for the game's only extra-base hit.

"We hit the baseball a few times and they were in the right spot," said Johnson. "It was just one of those deals where they just scored more runs than we did today."

Brandon Quillin took the loss for the Mustangs, allowing three hits and three walks in six innings of work while striking out five.

"I think Brandon's going to be good for us in the future," Johnson said. "Being a sophomore, he's facing mostly (Class 2) schools right now. That's what we're trying to get him ready for is big games. Hopefully he can help us in the district tournament."

Campbell hosts Neelyville Friday before heading to South Pemiscot Monday for a key district showdown.

Softball

Senath-H'ville 17, Hayti 7

At Senath, the Lady Lions pounded out 12 hits as they improved to 9-4 on the season and 4-1 in the Bootheel Conference.

After Hayti took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning, Senath-Hornersville scored the game's next 15 runs to roll to victory.

Whitney Odle, Megan Smith and Jena Payne each pounded out two hits, while Odle scored four runs and Smith drove in two.

Alecia Godsey picked up her second win in a row while filling in for injured hurler Hannah Kennedy, allowing five hits and three walks in five innings while striking out three.

The Lady Lions travel to Kennett today for a non-conference match before hosting the Lady Indians Monday with the conference title on the line. A Senath-Hornersville win Monday would likely forge a three-way tie atop the Bootheel Conference standings between the Lady Lions, Kennett and Portageville.