A ride to remember

It was a cold afternoon in March.

Not many people were around and the trees in the outfield were bare. The players sported long sleeves and sweat pants as they prepared for the 2008 baseball season.

That was the sight at the baseball field at College Park a few days before Camp Hill opened the season by drubbing Oley Valley, 10-1.

Less than three months later, the same players were still on the field but the trees were green, the weather was hot and numerous media members were milling about.

That was the sight two days before Camp Hill captured the PIAA Class A championship by squeezing by Carmichaels, 2-0, at Blair County Ballpark in Altoona.

In the middle there were losses -- eight of them, to be exact -- and a third-place finish in the Mid-Penn Capital, a division home to schools all larger than Camp Hill.

Eventually the Lions entered the District 3 Class A playoffs as the second seed and, in the semifinals, fell behind Upper Dauphin, 4-0, early.

The Lions won that game, 8-4, but fell apart in an 11-4 setback to Reading Holy Name in the district final.

From there Camp Hill took it to another level, plating 28 runs in three state playoff games, including three in the last of the seventh to shock Christopher Dock, 13-12, in the quarterfinals, to qualify for the final, where the team helped coach Brad Shover grab state gold. Shover pulled even with older brother Steve, the coach of the 1999 Lions, for state championships.

It wasn't a perfect ride, but it was sure one to remember.

(photo courtesy of Tom Elling. Check out more of Elling's photos from the state championships)