Back in the Game: Shore Regional’s Alex Cameron

Two years ago, it looked like Shore Regional’s Alex Cameron would get his shot at showing what he could do as an outfielder at the varsity level.  

An injury to an upperclassmen had created a void at a corner outfield spot, but it also happened to occur on one of the scariest days of Cameron’s life.  

Born with a genetic heart condition that also affects his mother and grandmother, Cameron, who was a sophomore at the time, was eating lunch when one of his friends remarked that he didn’t look so good.  

“I wasn’t eating lunch and a friend of mine told me I looked light-headed,’’ Cameron said. “Soon my heart was beating 200 times a minute.’’  

Initially, Cameron said he was going to be taken to the emergency room at Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch for surgery, but said that the decision was made by his doctors to put him on medication and then have him undergo heart ablation surgery at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.  

“I knew my mom and my grandmother had it, but I didn’t think it was going to happen to me,’’ Cameron said.  

Had his friend, Mike Lippolis, not said something at lunch, the condition could have potentially skyrocketed out of control and put Cameron on the brink of death.  

“They said I was lucky to be alive,’’ Cameron said. “My friend pretty much saved me.’’ 

“We were just obviously worried about his health at the time,’’ said Shore baseball coach Jeff Karpell. “If he was able to play again, great for him, because he loves the game.’’  

Cameron underwent the surgery to correct the heart defect and was cleared to return to athletics, but by that time, then-freshman R.J. Bohnert had claimed that open outfield position on a Blue Devils team that made a run all the way to the NJSIAA Group II final in 2009.  

“Once R.J. started to shine on varsity, there was no way for me to take that spot,’’ he said.  

Cameron started on JV early last season before cracking the varsity lineup and finishing the season strong for the Blue Devils. As a senior this spring, he has been a fixture as their leadoff man and a starting outfielder, batting .300 for a team that has struggled thus far with a 2-8 showing in April.  

“This is the only sport he plays, so for it to be almost taken away from him would have been tough,’’ Karpell said. “He has come a long way and done a great job for us.’’  

Cameron feels that he is making up for lost time, so while it would be easy to go through the motions after a 2-8 start, he is determined to finish with no regrets in a career that may have taken a different path if were not for that fateful day in the cafeteria two years ago.  

“I felt like I could’ve been a bigger contributor the last two years, so I want to make this year as good as possible,’’ he said.