HS BASE: Campbell Hall getting ready for tough pitcher

It sounds crazy, but Campbell Hall of North Hollywood says it will not be intimidated Friday against Dylan Covey, an All-American baseball pitcher for Maranatha of Pasadena who throws a 97 mph fastball - and that's not even his best pitch.

"That's right. We're going in really confident," Campbell Hall's Eric Munoz said.

Added teammate Adam Ehrlich: "It's a good opportunity to test our skills."

Projected as a sure first-round Major League draft choice and perhaps the No. 1 prep right-hander in the country, Covey, a 6-foot-2 right-hander, has proved nearly unhittable heading into a Southern Section Div. V quarterfinal at 3:15 p.m. at Campbell Hall.

Maranatha is the defending section champion, and along the way last year Covey shut out Campbell Hall 4-0 on five hits with 11 striketouts.

Munoz and Ehrlich reason that since they've seen Covey before, the outcome will be different.

"We faced him last year, so we're going into this game looking to be aggressive at the plate and looking for a good pitch," Munoz said. "We're definitely excited. Obviously, he's a little overpowering, but I think we've made the adjustments, and I think we'll be all right. We have the experience of seeing him before, so we're confident and excited."

Covey has won 18 career games, and this season he is 7-1 - he did give up an earned run in his only loss - with three saves, a 0.40 ERA and 138 strikeouts in 71 innings. He averages 13.6 strikeouts per seven innings, and no opponent has managed more than five hits against him.

"We know he's a good pitcher who throws really hard ... but when we faced him last year, we had chances to score and didn't get it done," Ehrlich said. "We have good hitters. We can string together some good at-bats and hopefully get a run or two."

At least Campbell Hall won't be surprised about anything, said coach Juan Velazquez.

"After facing him last year, we've been preparing for this day," Velazquez said. "He's a future major leaguer, and it's one of those things where we know it's about as tough as it gets in high school baseball."

A contingent of scouts and supporters follow Covey wherever he goes, so Velazquez is advising spectators to arrive early.

"There's going to be a large crowd, and we've got limited seating," Velazquez said.

-- Gerry Gittelson