Wadsworth seniors Riley Campbell and Nick Bebout are the 2015 Gazette co-MVPs for baseball. (RON SCHWANE / PHOTO ILLUSTRATION)
One was an easygoing, unbeatable strike-throwing machine who painted corners like a 6-foot-3 Rembrandt in size 13 cleats, baffling opposing hitters with precision instead of power and ironically launching home runs when he wasn’t.
The other was a fearless, born-to-play-in-the-dirt 5-9 leadoff hitter who terrorized on the base paths and gobbled up grounders with crazy range. Every inning had the potential to change complexion on one highlight-reel play from the four-year starter with a linebacker’s aggression.
All-Ohioans Nick Bebout and Riley Campbell unquestionably formed one of the most scintillating 1-2 punches in Medina County history. Bebout broke Wadsworth school records held by Bill Gearhart and Andy Sonnanstine, while many of Campbell’s exploits rank toe-to-toe with fellow shortstops Drew Saylor and Scott Fletcher.
For those needing a refresher, Gearhart, Saylor, Sonnanstine and Fletcher became MLB draft choices. The latter two played a combined 20 seasons in the majors, and all four are in the Medina County Sports Hall of Fame.
The complete baseball histories of Bebout and Campbell have yet to be written — both will play collegiately on scholarships — but their recent accomplishments involved helping the Grizzlies break their own 39-year-old county record for most wins in a season (27) and earning the distinction as the final undefeated team in Ohio. The only loss was a one-run heartbreaker in the Hudson Division I District championship game against Walsh Jesuit, whose roster featured eight Division I college recruits.
There is only one scenario where Gazette MVP can be shared in any sport these days: When two players on an elite team are in the company of all-time greats.
Bebout and Campbell fit the bill like a broken-in glove.
“It’s a bittersweet ending for me,” Wadsworth coach Greg Pickard said. “Both of them have been mainstays for four years for us. They were kids you loved to watch play and, for me, that I could rely on as leaders.
“We’re not just losing ball players. We’re losing the faces of our franchise.”
The Big Deal
Known solely as “No Doubt Bebout” for a good chunk of his career, Bebout saw his go-to nickname changed for good during an interview with Wadsworth Community Radio when the personality remarked, “I hear you’re kind of a big deal around here.”
Thus, “The Big Deal” was born and took off like wildfire throughout an amazingly tight-knit, senior-heavy team known for its variety of fun-loving goofballs. The blood-in-the-water effect followed after Bebout rolled his eyes whenever someone sarcastically said it.
The quiet, composed Walsh University recruit never reveled attention — all he wanted to do was win — and his vital stat line of a 9-0 record and 0.89 ERA was impressive, but county records for WHIP (0.62), strikeout-to-walk ratio (16.67) and consecutive innings without a walk (36, fourth in Ohio history) could stand for decades.
Yeah, “The Big Deal” sounds about right.
“He’s one of those guys on the baseball field, he’s a big deal when he gets on the mound,” a chuckling Campbell said before turning serious. “A lot of people know his name, and he lives up to it.
“I’m willing to get behind and play my guts out for him to have good game,” he added. “He’s giving it all he has, so why can’t I?”
Bebout is the second-winningest pitcher in county lore with a 25-3 record, 1.30 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 22 walks and 170 strikeouts in 161⅔ career innings. Buckeye’s Jim Walter (1973-76), who will be inducted into the Medina County Sports Hall of Fame on June 11, is the only player to reach 30 victories.
Bebout pulled off a rarity under the circumstances and took his game to another level after winning Gazette MVP as a junior. Again, he did it without scout-drooling stuff, and instead got ahead in the count with an 83-85 mph fastball to set up a much-improved curveball or change-up.
What made Bebout impossible to defeat this season was possibly the best defense in Ohio — the infield sextet of Bebout (P), Campbell (SS), Dylan Palidar (1B), Adam Dennison (2B), Kyle Pennington (3B) and Craig Palidar (C) combined for a measly 10 errors — and pinpointing edges of the strike zone a la Baseball Hall of Famer Greg Maddux with the rare ability to memorize hitter tendencies, especially within the Suburban League.
Bebout’s command was staggering with 75 percent first-pitch strikes, 75 percent overall strikes and a .163 opponent batting average. Out of 55 innings with his mentor, Gearhart, calling pitches, 44 saw the first batter retired, 41 needed less than 13 pitches and 34 were perfect.
Toss out a bitterly cold season-opening start against Highland and Bebout’s ERA was 0.51 — and none of the runs allowed were unearned, making that sometimes-misleading statistic 100 percent legitimate.
“He really helped the younger kids see you don’t have to throw it 90 mph to dominate a game,” Pickard said.
Oh, was it mentioned Bebout led the county with four homers and drove in 22 runs in only 55 at-bats?
Bebout, who played right field when he didn’t pitch, showing such power was among the biggest surprises of the Grizzlies’ season. Pickard knew Bebout had great bat speed, and the team needed to use it with All-Gazette picks Alex Laikos and Mason Egleston missing most of the season with injuries.
Not known as a hitter since his Little League days — he was 6-for-30 over the prior two seasons — Bebout responded with bombs on three of his first four hits and kept going with 11 RBIs over the final 17 games. He finished with .309 average and was third in the county with a .582 slugging percentage.
“The Big Deal,” who also went by “Beebs” and “Birchbout,” became a big-time two-way threat.
“I always used to hit when I was younger, and in high school I specialized, you could say,” he said. “Everything came together and (the coaches) said, ‘You can hit, too.’ I showed it, I guess. I used to be the four-hitter up until high school, so I had the swing.”
Li’l Soup
Forgive the Toledo-bound Campbell for taking a hundred swings off a tee before school, tearing it up in the classroom and then playing like his hair was on fire. The youngest of Kevin and Tara Campbell’s four children had a lot to live up to athletically and academically whether he liked it or not.
Oldest brother Kael (a.k.a. the original “Soup”) started as a freshman at NAIA Northwestern Ohio before injuries struck and now is an accountant. Brother Aden (also a.k.a. “Soup”) was a four-year starter at Wadsworth, twice made the University of Akron Dean’s List while still in high school and currently is playing baseball for D-I Western Illinois, while sister Grace was the 2011 Gazette MVP in girls soccer and is a two-time Academic All-Mid American Conference selection and team captain at Ohio University.
No pressure, kid.
“It was neat going after them,” said Riley Campbell, who took post secondary courses through Akron. “They set the bar at a very high level, and I told myself I was going to reach it. It’s good to make them proud. I know they’re proud of me.”
With role models like that in his own household, Campbell was the infielder coaches dreamed of. The fuel tank never went empty despite never taking his foot off the throttle.
The No. 20 uniform was always dirty, and his infectious intensity — notably his tense walk from the on-deck circle to the box — became a running gag in the dugout. Think of someone playing with the heart of Dustin Pedroia, Craig Biggio or Rickey Henderson. That was Campbell.
Few could match Campbell’s passion, and few could dominate a game like he did without even swinging the bat.
“I don’t want to say he’s cocky, but he’s certainly confident in his ability,” Pickard said. “He’s made mistakes over the years, but he makes them going 1,000 mph. As much as you get upset, he’s trying to make something happen. He believes he can do that. He plays the game right. He plays hard …”
Pickard then paused for emphasis after each word.
“All … the … time,” he said.
Campbell began his career as a raw talent, hitting .254 without an extra-base hit and struggling defensively on the all-dirt infield of A.C. Field as a freshman. However, one couldn’t help but notice how quickly he learned from mistakes.
Pickard first asked Campbell to become a leadoff hitter, so he worked on swing mechanics and mental approach. Speed training, fielding and arm strength followed, leading to All-Gazette selections as a sophomore and junior.
The culmination was a senior season in which Campbell batted .405 and led the county by a mile in runs (39, ninth in county history) and stolen bases (29, fifth). He also walked 17 times, saw 11 of his 16 RBIs come with two outs, scored two or more runs in 12 games and committed only four errors in 96 chances.
Campbell raised his level of play to the maximum when the stakes were at their highest, too.
Over its final 15 games, Wadsworth played 10 teams with a combined 181 wins, four league crowns and three district titles, and Campbell batted .477 (21-for-44) with 26 runs (he scored in each game), 15 stolen bases, 11 walks and only three strikeouts.
That stat line is one of many reasons why he was second-team All-Ohio and surpassed Saylor (with 22 career hit by pitches) and Fletcher (73 stolen bases) in the record books.
“I took it one game at a time,” he said. “I didn’t know we were playing good teams, but I knew teams wanted to beat us. The guys next to me were stepping it up, and I had to step it up along with them.”
Bebout did the bragging for Campbell instead.
“Hard work and dedication — he’s always working hard no matter when it is,” Bebout said. “We always see each other in the weight room. He’s very baseball smart, too. He knows what he’s doing all the time.
“He’s always working hard to try and out do someone. He doesn’t want to be average. He’s always diving back or bouncing up and down, and he’s always on his toes. Nothing catches him off guard.”
Contact Albert Grindle at (330) 721-4043 or agrindle@medina-gazette.com.
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