Following Friday’s two-game sweep of Billingsley in the first round of the Class 2A playoffs, Phil Campbell will face a familiar foe in round two.
The Bobcats, who ran their win streak to 10 games by beating the Bears 6-3 and 16-4 at the Roger Bedford Sportsplex on Friday, will travel to Florence next weekend for a best-of-three series against nemesis Mars Hill, which swept West End 8-0 and 14-0 on Friday. The Panthers (23-10 and ranked No. 3 in Class 2A by the ASWA) have eliminated Phil Campbell (26-8 and ranked No. 4) from the playoffs in each of the past two seasons, taking two of three from the Bobcats in a first-round series in 2015 and then sweeping them in last year’s second round.
Phil Campbell got a pair of complete game outings on the mound against Billingsley (8-12), one from junior ace Peyton Thomas and the other from senior lefty Hayden Copeland. The Bobcats held off a late rally by the Bears to win the opener and then broke open game two with 11 runs in the first two innings.
Thomas (7-0) was razor-sharp out of the gate in game one, retiring the first nine batters he faced and racking up six strikeouts by the end of the third inning. He finished with nine Ks and just one walk in his sixth complete game of the season, holding Billingsley to five hits and two earned runs. Three of those hits came in the top of the seventh, but Thomas recorded the final out on a fly ball to left with the tying run at the plate to seal the deal.
Thomas also helped the Bobcats grab an early lead in the bottom of the first, following up a leadoff single by Copeland with a double to left. Copeland scored on a groundout by Gage Roberson to make it 1-0.
Phil Campbell added another run in the second when Ridge Raper singled with one out, moved to second on a sac bunt by Mike Wrona and then came home on Copeland’s RBI double to left. Thomas drew a walk, but the Bobcats left the bases loaded and settled for a 2-0 lead.
After the Bears broke up Thomas’s perfect game and scored their first run on a double and two groundouts in the top of the fourth, Phil Campbell took control with four runs in the bottom half. Taylor walked, Copeland reached on an error and Thomas singled to load the bases. Roberson drove in a run with a fielder’s choice and then stole second, with Copeland coming home on an error by the catcher. Brody Nix and Joe Hardy each added RBI doubles, stretching the lead to 6-1.
Thomas pitched around a single and a walk in the fifth, striking out two, and then retired the side in order in the sixth. Three singles and an error made things a bit dicey in the seventh, but Thomas finished off the 6-3 win. He threw 98 pitches on the day, 67 of which were strikes.
Copeland (7-1) followed suit with his third complete game in the nightcap, striking out seven in five innings, but offense was the story for the Bobcats. Copeland and Thomas, the first two hitters in head coach Jonathan Raper’s lineup, combined to reach base all 10 times they batted in game two, going 6-for-6 with four walks, three RBIs and five runs scored. Hardy, who went 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles in game one, had two more doubles in the second game, driving in two runs. Ridge Raper was 1-for-2 in game two with three RBIs, and Nix walked three times and scored three runs.
The Bobcats jumped on top with four runs in the top of the first inning. Copeland drew a walk, his team-leading 36th of the season, and then scored on Thomas’s double to center. Thomas stole a base and scored on a passed ball, and Hardy had an RBI double to make it 3-0. Raper capped the inning with an RBI groundout.
Billingsley took advantage of three hits, a walk, a hit batter and a passed ball to score three times in the bottom of the first, but Phil Campbell ended the drama with seven runs in the second. The Bobcats drew six walks in the inning, including free passes to Roberson, Nix and Hardy with the bases loaded. Nick Swinney, Colby Baker and Copeland each had RBI singles, and Raper drove in a run with a sac fly.
That was plenty of support for Copeland, who allowed four earned runs on seven hits in five innings. He struck out seven, walked three and hit two, throwing 60 of his 104 pitches for strikes.
At the plate, Copeland finished the doubleheader 5-for-6 with three RBIs and four runs scored. Thomas was also 5-for-6 on the day (raising his season average to a team-best .449) with two doubles, three runs and three stolen bases (all in game two). Hardy went 4-for-6 with four doubles and two RBIs, and Baker was 1-for-3 in the second game with two RBIs and two runs scored.
