If you ask coach Mike Campbell, the LHS Dreadnaughts baseball team is looking up.

“We’re getting a lot better,” Campbell said.

The gritty Dreadnaughts are 14-9 on the season.

Campbell points to many of his younger players as a reason for their recent improvement.

“We’re really using the whole program,” he said. “There are three kids (from JV) that are going to make a serious contribution to this team.”

Josh Lukas (14.7 IP, 3.33 ERA an 7 K’s), Drew Hutchinson and Ian Scott are the team’s top underclassmen.

The Naughts have struggled defensively this season.

“Our outfield defense was less than stellar” Campbell said.

Campbell has been using his players versatility in order to improve the defensively. The Naughts have spent a lot of time experimenting with their players on the defensive side of the baseball. “We’ve been moving people around, shifting a lot of the guys”, Campbell said.

If there is one area the team has not struggled with, it’s hitting. Paul Wilson (.405), Preston Hale (.372) and Daniel Rockhold (.359) have carried the offense.

The Naughts also boast the top offensive threat in the county, Evan Chambers. Chambers leads the county with a .500 batting average with 20 stolen bases.



Pitching has been highlighted by the performances of Chris Sale (4-2/4.73 ERA/40 IP) and Nick Leitner (3-2/5.81 ERA/27.7 IP), who have become invaluable workhorses for the Naughts. Despite losing senior pitcher Nate Young to an elbow injury early in the season, the team has continued to improve. “We’re staring to throw (the baseball) better”, said Coach Campbell.

With all aspects of the Dreadnaughts game looking up, the team hopes to return to the district tournament.

Before the 2005 season, the Dreadnaughts excelled at the district level, appearing at districts four straight years from 2001-2004 reaching the 5A final four in 2001. The Naughts will face Tampa Riverview next week as the third seed. There is a lot of excitement surrounding the Naughts as they begin the playoffs, but Campbell tries to keep things in perspective. “You never know what’s going to happen. That’s baseball. That’s why we play.”