Phil Campbell boys route Fyffe to head to semifinals

The Phil Campbell Bobcats are one series away from earning a spot in the Class 3A baseball finals in Montgomery.

Phil Campbell used a five-run first inning to route Fyffe in game three of the Class 3A quarterfinals Saturday 13-0. The Bobcats will host top-ranked Piedmont Thursday at 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; if necessary, game three will be Friday at 1 p.m.

“We played well this weekend,” said Phil Campbell Coach Jonathan Raper. “I thought our players did a good job of handling situations and the atmosphere we faced at Fyffe. I thought we did a good job of keeping our composure.

“We faced a very good team and did a good job taking care of business. We played good defensively all weekend and pitched well all three games.”

Ridge Raper pitched a five-inning complete-game shutout in game three, allowing three hits and a walk and striking out four batters.

Mason Swinney led the way at the plate, going three-for-four with two doubles, two RBIs and two runs scored.  Austen Baker, Bryant Hyde, Trey Leindecker and Raper all had two-RBI games as well.

John Miller Lawson and Hyde scored three runs each.

Luke Barnwell started off the game with a lead-off single. He came around to score on the first of two Swinney doubles.

Swinney scored on a sacrifice fly by Baker to give the Bobcats a 2-0 lead.

Later in the inning, Hyde had a two-run triple, scoring Lawson and Raper, to extend the Bobcats’ first-inning lead to 4-0. Phil Campbell added a fifth run in the inning when Hyde scored on a passed ball.

Phil Campbell had another big inning in the fourth, starting off with Swinney’s second double of the game scoring Sage Raper. Swinney came around to score on a RBI-single by Baker to give the Bobcats a 7-0 lead.

Baker scored on a sacrifice fly by Ridge Raper, making the score 8-0. The Bobcats added two more on a two-run single by Leindecker scoring Lawson and Hyde.

Leindecker scored on a bases-loaded walk to cap off the inning, with Phil Campbell leading 11-0 and in full control.

Game two: Fyffe 4, Phil Campbell 2

Phil Campbell had a chance to put the series away Friday night but couldn’t hang on to their lead late in the game.

The Bobcats led Fyffe 2-1 heading into the final inning of play.

Fyffe scored three runs in the top of the seventh to get the win and force game three Saturday.

Ridge Raper went two-for-three with a solo home run. Barnwell took the loss, pitching six and two-thirds innings, allowing seven hits and four runs and waking seven batters.

Game one: Phil Campbell 11, Fyffe 5

Baker went three-for-four with two RBIs and scored two runs to help put Phil Campbell in control of game one, beating Fyffe 11-5.

Phil Campbell was firmly in control of the game from the beginning, leading 11-1 going into the bottom of the seventh inning.

Leindecker and Swinney both had RBI triples in the game. Leindecker, Levi Crittenden, Swinney and Baker all scored two runs each.

Swinney got the win, pitching a complete game and striking out 10 batters.