Third-round showdown

By Staff
No. 8 Phil Campbell battles back against No. 5 Ranburne to force Game 3
RANBURNE – No. 8 Phil Campbell shook off a 6-1 opening game loss to No. 4 Ranburne in the Class 2A quarterfinal series with a 5-1 second-game victory Friday night.
Phil Campbell (25-12) won Game 2 behind the clutch pitching of senior Stephen Lacey, who went all seven innings to help the Bobcats force a deciding Game 3 Saturday.
In the opener, Phil Campbell was tied 1-1 with Ranburne (20-5) in the fourth inning but the Bulldogs, who have eliminated Phil Campbell in the playoffs the past two seasons, went ahead 4-1 on a three-run homer and added two more runs to put the Bobcats in a must-win situation.
"Stephen threw all seven innings for us so that means he's finished pitching for this series," Phil Campbell coach Michael Beck said. "We had some young guys step up tonight in the second game. We didn't hit the ball very well in the first game and we let the officiating get to us.
"But we came back in Game 2 and we have five pitchers ready to go for the third game because they were able to get some work in during the first game."
Phil Campbell was scheduled to play the Bulldogs at noon Saturday in Game 3. The winner will advance to the semifinals to play the winner of the Mars Hill-Westminster Christian series.