It wasn't like
Joseph Camacho's pitching talent was a secret.
Camacho posted a school-record nine wins in 2012, his senior season at Franklin High, and his 1.55 earned run average was a large reason why the Cougars won 28 games that season, the second most in school history.
The El Paso, Texas, native was selected to play on the United States Specialty Sports Association's team (Team USSSA) that went to Prague, Czech Republic, in early July. But despite all the accolades, the 5-foot-9 pitcher had few options until he bumped into Alabama State University head baseball coach
Mervyl Melendez at the East Cobb baseball tournament in Atlanta later that month.
"I had a junior college offer. That was it," Camacho recalled. "God gave me the chance to come play for Melendez. That came out of the blue and I'm really glad it happened."
Melendez had no idea he would be securing a player that is now in the midst of one of the most successful collegiate careers ever for an Alabama State student-athlete.
"You get a lot of people who will give you a reference about players," Melendez said. "I had a travel ball coach call me and say I'm coaching this
team overseas and I happen to have him on my team. He has nowhere to go and he's going to go to a junior college if he has nowhere to go. Two weeks later, his travel ball team came to Atlanta and I saw him and made him an offer and he said yes.
"I saw a very good arm, and I saw someone that I thought would be very good. I'm not going to tell you that I saw the success he's had. I didn't see that, but I saw somebody that was going to be pretty good."
The Hornets (20-12) are off to the best start in school history in SWAC play at 12-0 and travel to arch-rival Jackson State (17-12, 6-3 SWAC) for a three-game series this weekend. Camacho will pitch in Friday's game at Robert Braddy Field at 6 p.m., followed by 3 p.m. starts on Saturday and Sunday. Listen to every series game and get live stats at bamastatesports.com.
Camacho's success is perhaps unrivaled for any ASU student-athlete, but certainly for a Hornet baseball player.
He has thrown 280.1 innings and started 41 games in his career at ASU, compiling a 31-4 record and 3.28 ERA in the process. Each season, he has gotten better, with the senior posting a 5-0 record and 1.12 ERA this season with an incredible 5.67-1 strikeouts-to-walk ratio (51 Ks/9BB), while surrendering just six earned runs.
"I believed if I gave my team the best chance of winning – just throw strikes and let my defense work – the team this year and in past years has been really good defensively and hitting wise, so I really just relied on my defense," Camacho said of his past success. "I thought to myself that if I threw strikes, didn't walk anybody and got ground balls and pop flies, my defense would be there."
He was selected Southwestern Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year in 2014 and 2015 and was the preseason SWAC Pitcher of the Year this season. He also was honored last season by the El Paso Baseball Hall of Fame as the Syd and Andy Cohen Collegiate Player of the Year and was selected by Collegiate Baseball to the third team of the 2016 Louisville Slugger Preseason All-America team.
But what makes Camacho so successful? It's not an easy answer. Sure, it's about location, but it's also about a delivery that is tougher to hit. It's also about having the proper mindset to shrug off hits or those occasional defensive breakdowns as well as heart and determination to always improve.
"He throws a little bit of a sidearm so the arm angle is tough (on opposing batters)," Melendez said. "But he just competes. He's little in stature, but he's a competitor, and he doesn't get rattled. It doesn't matter what happens, he still has a good mindset. You could score three runs in an inning off of him and when he comes to the dugout, he's still going to be the same."
Here's what makes Camacho's story even more amazing. As a true freshman, he was thrown into the rotation as a Saturday starter behind ace
T.J. Renda but ran into early trouble and was reduced to relief work while he mastered his new pitching style.
"When I got here, I had a bad freshman year. Then the coaches told me to change my arm slot, and it ended up working for the best," he said. "It was really tough, especially with the transition from high school to college. I had a really good senior year (in high school), so I thought I could carry that over and have a good freshman year (in college). I learned the hard way by getting hit a lot. You've got to be real precise on the mound and hit locations, stay low in the zone. It's not more talent, it's more the way you do your mechanics and staying focused. When success comes, everybody in the conference tries to go after you."
Since the change, he is 28-1 in 35 starts, compiling a 2.52 ERA with 56 walks and 203 strikeouts in 239.1 innings. And, yes, everyone is gunning for him.
"I really don't feel any pressure," he said. "I just try to take it as another game. Forget about the game before, the year before and focus on this year and try to give our team the best chance of winning."
For a senior always looking at ways to improve, Friday's game may provide a gauge. Camacho has only surrendered more than one earned run once this season in seven previous outings. On March 4 against Jackson State, he gave up two.
"This year, I would say my goal is to command the zone a little better, hit my locations better and stay lower in the zone," Camacho said. "A couple of times last year, I kept leaving them up and I got hit a little bit. My ERA was a little high so that's what I'm working on this year."
And maybe, just maybe, he can bring the Hornets their first-ever SWAC championship and NCAA Tournament berth. Those are certainly goals for the ASU ace. Another goal comes after the season. After being overlooked as a high school senior, he hopes to avoid the same fate as a college senior.
"I would like to get drafted," Camacho said. "That's what I'm working toward, but I'm not really looking at that right now. I'm just focused on this season and just taking it a game at a time. Once that time comes, then I'll worry about it."
Melendez admits Camacho isn't tall enough to catch the eye of professional scouts. However, he predicts anyone that takes a chance on the El Paso native won't be disappointed.
"He doesn't fit that mold," Melendez said, "but I'm hopeful. Unfortunately, his velocity is not 90-plus, like everybody wants to see, but he's a winner and he comes from a tough (arm) angle. I'm hoping someone gives him an opportunity."
