Cameron Tilly at heart of Castle's regional title, but Knights' ambitions are greater

EVANSVILLE — Cameron Tilly’s high school baseball career has seen its turns.

He was Castle’s ace as a sophomore after losing his freshman year to the COVID-19 pandemic. He announced his commitment to Auburn University three years and three weeks prior to the day those twists landed the Knights a Class 4A Regional championship with a 4-0 win over Jeffersonville at Braun Stadium on Saturday.

It was his day, as they often have been: Eight strikeouts, three hits, one walk and no runs. Tilly threw more fastballs than normal against the Red Devils lineup, just needing to stay in the zone. The result was the Knights’ first regional title since 2018, a semistate date with New Palestine and another pushback for his move to college — that's also dependent on the MLB Draft this summer.

“It’s awesome,” Tilly said. “We have a ton of younger guys that are really putting in a lot of work, so it’s really special for them to get to experience this at a really young age and it’s gonna be great for our program.”

Never one to bask in his own spotlight, Tilly pointed to those around him. But his performance on the mound gave No. 9-ranked Castle (23-6) its platform. That’s nothing out of the ordinary. Nor was his single in the fourth inning, which was the Knights’ first hit and set off a four-run outburst in the frame.

“Hitting in the three-hole for Castle is always a big deal,” he said. “I’m just trying to stay focused, especially when I’m pitching, so it was nice to deliver.”

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Coach Curt Welch, who enjoyed an ice bath courtesy of Tilly and infielder Garrett Fultz, knows his ace's importance extends beyond strikeouts and base hits. Tilly's influence is seen in the younger players, the other pitchers and the program at large.

“He’s gonna be another one of those pitchers for us that’s gonna be talked about for a long time,” he said. “I hate to see him go after this season. We still have games to play, but you only get guys like this every so often and we’ve been lucky to have a couple. You cherish this.”

Tilly went six innings against Jeffersonville (18-12) before handing the ball to fellow Southeastern Conference commit Will Coleman, who has pledged to Missouri. Though Castle’s time with Tilly is coming to a close after this season, Coleman is still just a sophomore. Welch said he’s seen Coleman and the other pitchers listen to and learn from Tilly.

“He teaches me a lot. Still does,” Coleman said. “Last year he taught me how to throw my slider, when and when not to be super aggressive, stuff like that.”

Coleman’s test came in the top of the seventh inning Saturday when he came in for relief. Some of the lessons Tilly taught were on display, allowing one runner before the gloves flew and the players piled.

“I don’t really think much. They told me, ‘Hey, go warm up,’ and I was like, ‘OK,’ so I went and warmed up,” Coleman said. “My coach goes, ‘Hey you’re going in.’ I’m like, ‘Oh, OK.’ So I went in and I just did my job.

“That’s all you gotta do.”

Tilly’s prints are there, just as they are throughout the Knights’ lineup. Landin Lis, who hit the RBI double to score the first two runs, is the starting catcher and knows his ace is near untouchable on days like Saturday. When the run support comes and the pressure is off more, Tilly’s SEC-ready approach is more apparent.

“Cam had his stuff today,” Lis said. “We were doing a good job of keeping them off balance and he was hitting his spots really well.”

That’s Cameron Tilly. Not looking too far ahead, staying grounded and in the moment. He was at the heart of Castle’s offense and defense, securing the elusive regional title after a five-year hiatus.

Auburn waits, but that’s not on his mind. At least not yet.

“It’s awesome,” Tilly said, “but my eyes are on a state championship.”

Class A: ‘We feel that we put Evansville Christian baseball on the map’

The Evansville Christian School baseball team huddled together for the final time this season. Each player had their arms around each other’s shoulders, heads bowed, hats off and quietly listening for the last time as a historic year came to an emotional close in foul territory at Braun Stadium.

The Eagles weren’t expected to reach the Class 1A Regional Championship, yet there they were. An upset of title-contending No. 4 Tecumseh brought ECS to this point. The Eagles, in their first year being eligible for the state tournament due to the four-year provisional period for new IHSAA members, made waves.

While a 10-0 loss to No. 1 Barr-Reeve stings and a final “1-2-3: Family” huddle break brought some to tears, a sense of accomplishment remained.

“We feel that we put Evansville Christian baseball on the map,” coach Joseph Paulin said. “Hopefully everybody will want to play us now. Some teams have not wanted to play us, and I understand why, but now I think everybody is willing to give us a shot.”

There’s a foundation for ECS to build on. The Eagles’ run to this point came in spite of an injury-riddled regular season that saw nine of 14 varsity players miss time. They only graduate three seniors while ace pitcher Jayden Gates, as well as Josiah Dunham and Maddox Brenner, are coming back. ECS’ sectional title against Tecumseh was its first in any sport in its six-year history.

Those are the blocks.

“It was very exciting, an exciting journey,” Paulin said. “We are so excited about where we’ve been. A couple years ago we couldn’t even talk about competing in this tournament, let alone being in this regional championship game.  We’re very excited about where we’ve came in with not-very-long of a history. … We’ll go back to work, we’ll try to get better next year and see if we can make it back here again.”

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: High school baseball: Cameron Tilly leads Castle to regional title