Campbell comes full circle, leaves a champion

CUMBERLAND — As the final holdover from Pope’s 2019 state runner-up team, Dawson Campbell made his impact clear from the first pitch to the last in the Greyhounds’ state championship sweep of Allatoona on Thursday.

A midseason call-up from the junior varsity team in 2019, when Pope lost the title to Heritage, Campbell believes that experience helped prepare him for a dominant showing as a senior. He was welcomed with open arms back then, before living out his dream Thursday night at Truist Park.

“It gave me a taste,” Campbell said. “I saw what it feels like to make a deep run. This year in the playoffs, we just flipped a switch. We kind of struggled at the beginning of the year, so we just did not know what was going to happen. We won the region and everyone wanted to be the guy with the ball.”

Campbell started Game 1 of Thursday’s doubleheader at Truist Park, pitching a six-inning shutout in Pope’s 10-0 win, striking out eight and allowing only three hits. Baserunners were almost impossible to come by as he tamed the Bucs potent lineup.

“Allatoona has never seen me pitch,” Campbell said. “I felt my changeup, and I could command it. I felt my slider. I did not throw many fastballs, and when I did, it surprised the batters. I had great defense behind me, which helped a ton. I trust the guys out there.”

Pope coach Chris Turco praised Campbell’s command and said his changeup was a consistently lethal pitch. Campbell kept hitters off-balance all night with his pitch combinations.

Campbell flashed the other strengths of his well-rounded skills in Game 2, as the Greyhounds picked up another convincing win, 9-2, sealing the championship behind his two-hit showing.

Campbell stole a base after walking in the second inning, followed with a single in the fourth and then tripled and scored on a wild pitch to push Pope’s lead to 7-1 in the sixth inning.

Campbell was also productive at the plate in Game 1, going 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs and a walk.

“He is a great hitter, he is great at defense and the guy is a heck of a pitcher,” Turco said. “I cannot say enough about what that kid means to the program. In the dugout today, we said Dawson Campbell is a top-five player in Pope history, and that is saying something.”

After he got his feet wet in 2019, Turco said Campbell’s leadership was invaluable to the team’s title run this year. He led a talented roster and helped mentor players like juniors Kent Schmidt and Carson Kerce, who were also excellent throughout the series.

“It is a championship program, and there is a reason for that,” said Campbell, who committed to play next year at Division II Lander University in Greenwood, South Carolina. “We prepare every day for the state championship starting in August. If there is a team out there that prepares more than us, I want to see it. It is a credit to the coaches and these guys. Executing the plan is important, and I did that today.”