by Stephen M. Lewis
DigitalSports Richmond
slewis@digitalsports.com
(804) 240-2191
Not many are lucky enough to throw one perfect game in high school, college or professional baseball. Don’t even think about doing it twice.
Campbell Henkel must have a leprechaun in his pocket, or he eats a lot of Lucky Charms in the morning.
Nope, Henkel’s just plain good, and so are the St. Christopher’s Saints.
Henkel threw a perfect game in a 3-0 victory over Benedictine, registering 11 strikeouts.
Just 10 days later, the left-handed senior no-hit Liberty Christian in the VISAA state quarterfinals.
“Seeing either one is a very special treat,” Saints coach Tony Szymendera said. “I think what makes both of these so special is a combination of the opponents we’ve played, the importance of the games and the settings.
“These are not games against people in the bottom of the standings.”
Neither are the 22-3 Saints, who will face Paul VI in Friday’s state semifinals at Shepherd Stadium in Colonial Heights.
Henkel, headed to VMI, has been the catalyst.
The 6-3 lefty is 9-0 with 104 strikeouts (school record) with a tiny 1.19 ERA. He’s nasty at the plate as well, with a .444 batting average and 26 RBI.
He’s the school’s career leader in homers (19), doubles (32), RBI (87) and wins (21).
Henkel isn’t the only Saint that’s having a standout season.
Kurt Fleming has added muscle to his already powerful frame and may be drafted by the MLB in June. Casey Fox has also been a standout.
“I’ve got to give a lot of credit to the guys playing behind me,” Henkel said. “It was a phenomenal game. Not just for me, but for the team in general.”
St. Christopher’s faithful hope the Saints and Henkel can put together a few more phenomenal games to bring home the state hardware.
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