Peyton Thomas hit career home runs number 29 and 30 for Phil Campbell on Tuesday and also struck out 11 batters in a five-inning complete game as the Bobcats crushed Sulligent 13-1 for their seventh win in eight games.
Ridge Raper also had a big day at the plate for Phil Campbell (19-9, 5-0 in Class 2A, Area 14), going 4-for-4 with four runs scored. Thomas was the headliner, though, cracking a two-run homer to left in the bottom of the fourth and then ending the game with a three-run blast in the bottom of the fifth. He now has eight home runs this season after hitting 12 as a junior, nine as a sophomore and one as a freshman back in 2015.
The Bobcats, who had already wrapped up their third straight area title coming into the series, landed an early knockout blow on Tuesday with a six-run first inning highlighted by Mike Wrona's two-run triple. Thomas struck out the side in the top of the second, but the Blue Devils put together two hits and a walk to score their only run of the game.
Raper singled in the bottom of the second and eventually scored when Chase Hutchens hit into a fielder's choice, making it 7-1. Thomas struck out the side again in the top of the third and then went deep in the bottom of the fourth, whacking a 3-1 pitch over the fence in left for a two-run shot to make it 9-1.
Cole Motes led off the bottom of the fifth with a triple and scored on a base hit by Austen Baker. After Raper singled for his fourth hit of the day, Thomas cranked a walk-off three-run blast to left to provide the final margin.
Thomas, a UNA signee and the reigning Class 2A Hitter of the Year, was 2-for-2 with five RBIs, a walk and a hit by pitch. Wrona went 2-for-3 with a triple and two RBIs, and Hutchens also drove in two runs. Daniel Smith scored twice, and Joe Hardy was 1-for-2 with a run and a stolen base. Brody Nix drove in a run and scored a run.
Thomas (5-3) tossed his fifth complete game of the year, allowing one earned run on three hits in five innings. He struck out 11 and walked two, throwing 55 of his 85 pitches for strikes.
