Lehigh University Athletics
Making the most of all Lehigh has to offer
4/23/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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For the last four years, Geoff Campbell has put all the heart and soul he has into the game of baseball. His humble personality will never admit to how well he has played for Lehigh and the contributions he has made for the team over the last four years, but statistics will help prove that. You can ask him time and again how he feels about his performances or about any statistic under his name and he will immediately direct you to another teammate or the team in their entirety. However, Geoff Campbell has been a major asset to the Mountain Hawks over the last four years and has taken a leading role in his senior season.
Throughout his career, Campbell has established new goals with every approaching season. As a mere freshman, all Campbell wanted was to play a contributing role on a very talented team. He was willing to do whatever it took to play a supporting role on the team and at the same time maintain a high degree of academic excellence at Lehigh. During his freshman year, the Brown and White won the Patriot League Tournament and participated in the NCAA Tournament and since that time, has always wanted to see the team reach that level of success again.
Once the season begins, Campbell does continue to have a common goal. “Once the season gets underway, the goal is always to participate on the team in the role Coach Leary defines, and to do my part to contribute to the success of the team.” The keyword in Campbell’s goals is “team.” He has never driven away from the team aspect, even as his performances have risen over the past seasons. The game was never only about him.
Now nearing the end of his senior season Campbell’s goals are very common to many other senior athletes, enjoying each game as if it were his last. But his commitment to his team is as strong as ever. “I am focused on helping the team and pushing our players to be positive and leave it all on the field. I want to be remembered by the coaching staff as a player who gave 100% for the team no matter what, and someone who represented Lehigh as a high performing student athlete.”
Campbell’s talent has helped the Mountain Hawks significantly over the last four seasons. He has the ability to play multiple positions which allowed him to contribute at any point of the game. In Campbell’s four years, he has rotated around five positions, but doesn’t feel he is the most physically talented. “I am not the most physically talented of players, but I hope to play a role in motivating the team by playing hard and paying special attention to the little details that help you win close games.”
As a freshman, Campbell started 21 of the 27 games he played in. The rookie split time between the infield and pitching. In his 78 at bats, Campbell recorded 20 hits, four doubles, a triple and two homeruns. His first career homerun was against Moravian College where he also drove in a modern-day record nine runs as Lehigh beat Moravian by a 28-3 score on the Goodman Campus. On that day Campbell started his record with a two-run double in the first, adding another RBI in the fourth, a three-run homerun (his collegiate first) in the fifth, and later crushing a three-run triple in the eighth inning.
That season Campbell also made an appearance opposite his catching position on the pitching mound. Campbell’s 18 appearances on the mound was a season high among freshmen pitchers for the Mountain Hawks.
In his sophomore and junior year, Campbell started 61 of the team’s 66 games. During his time at bat, Campbell drove in 20 runs while he also had 39 hits, eight doubles and a single homerun. In both his sophomore and junior year, Campbell pitched in relief in nine games. In his junior year he compiled a 1.20 ERA as he struck out 12 batters and walked two in 15 innings.
With the Mountain Hawks spring season well underway, Campbell has posted impressive figures that have been beneficial to the team. This season alone, Campbell has played and started in all 42 games and has accumulated a team-leading .342 batting average. In his 149 at bats, Campbell has had 51 hits for Lehigh, eight doubles, three triples and three homeruns. The standout player has gone 4-4 in stolen bases and driven in 17 runs. He has also seen seven innings on the mound in five games striking out three batters and only allowing one run.
Campbell may be posting some great statistics but his humility keeps him grounded and thinking about his teammates and his future. To him, Lehigh baseball has challenged him to become a better player and to maintain his grades in academics. “The coaching staff demands so much of the players and as a result, each year the players learn to help and lean on each other to get through the rigors of the season. I have made countless great friends and believe they will be lifelong “teammates.”’
Campbell has focused on his academics as much as he has focused on his teammates. When he arrived here as a freshman he thought he had his major planned out. But to his surprise he was wrong. “I entered Lehigh thinking I would major in Architecture, switched to Pre-Med, then Psychology and finally decided on Political Science. Because Lehigh has a broad curriculum with a liberal arts focus, I was exposed to academic and professional opportunities I did not know existed.” In his final decision to study Political Science, Campbell was given the opportunity to study abroad over the past summer in Turkey. He had always been interested in the Middle East and Islamic culture and the trip to Turkey was the perfect way to experience his interests firsthand.
“My time in Turkey was a life-changing experience. It completely opened my eyes to the rest of the world. While there are definite cultural differences across the world, my travel in Turkey made me realize that when it comes down to it, we are all people and the vast majority of people are good and well-intentioned. Governments and bias get in the way of the goodness of the people living their lives.”
Campbell’s thought process in his academics and his athletic performances are very similar. He is a kindhearted student-athlete willing to open his mind to any possibility. This has allowed him to strive on and off the field. Even Campbell admits that when he left for Turkey he had some preconceived notions of the people and the country, but all of them were shot down by the kindness of the Turkish people. This can also be seen throughout his blog he kept on his trip that can be viewed on Lehighsports.com, here.
As graduation soon approaches, Campbell is beginning to create a plan of action for his future. He is in high hopes to secure an internship this summer in Washington D.C. or New York prior to attending graduate school for Middle Eastern studies or International Relations. After completing graduate school in one of those areas, Campbell is planning to teach at the collegiate level or work in government.
Twenty years from now, Campbell knows he can look back and see that the friendships and fun he has had playing baseball are what will really means the most to him. He feels he was blessed to be a part of an amazing student-athlete community at an incredible university. He has learned so many valuable lessons about leadership and teamwork that will always be important to him and help drive him in the future. As for his time on the field, he hopes he was successful in leading by example and bringing a positive energy to each game that helped give the team a lift.
Campbell and his Mountain Hawk teammates return to action on Saturday, April 25 when they play host to Patriot League foe Bucknell on the baseball field on the Goodman Campus. The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday and another on Sunday with the first pitch set for noon for both days. Saturday’s games will be broadcast live on Lehighsports.com.
Story written by Lindsey Corbetta ‘09
