Two outs away from a 17th straight win and a berth in the state semifinals, Phil Campbell couldn't quite close the deal against Fyffe on Friday night and will have to play a win-or-go-home Game 3 on Saturday afternoon after the Red Devils rallied for a series-tying 4-2 win in Game 2.
The Bobcats (35-4), who pushed their win streak to 16 with an 11-5 victory in Friday's series opener, grabbed a 2-1 lead in the nightcap on Ridge Raper's solo homer in the bottom of the fourth. Senior pitcher Luke Barnwell made that lead stand up until the top of the seventh, when Fyffe (25-2) put together a three-run rally to keep its season alive.
Leadoff man Koby Harris started the seventh with a single and moved to second on Ty Bell's team-leading seventh sacrifice bunt of the year. Barnwell walked Ike Rowell, and Tanner Cowart reached on an infield hit to load the bases. Parker Godwin followed with a two-run double to center to put the Red Devils on top 3-2.
Brody Dalton added a sac fly, giving Rowell (Fyffe's Game 2 starter) a two-run cushion to work with in the bottom of the seventh. Phil Campbell threatened immediately, getting back-to-back singles from Raper and Bryant Hyde to start the inning, but Rowell recovered to retire the next three batters (two on strikeouts) to seal the deal and force a decisive Game 3.
Rowell (9-0) largely held in check a Bobcat offense that had put up 11 runs on 12 hits in Friday's first game. He set down seven straight batters after Raper's fourth-inning homer and finished with 12 strikeouts and zero walks in a complete game, holding Phil Campbell to two earned runs on six hits.
Barnwell (8-2) took the loss, allowing four earned runs on seven hits in 6.2 innings. He struck out two and uncharacteristically issued seven walks--after walking only 11 batters in 51.1 innings on the year coming in.
Raper was 2-for-3 in Game 2 with the home run, his fourth of the season and the fifth of his varsity career. Mason Swinney tied the game 1-1 with an RBI single in the bottom of the third and finished 1-for-3. Hyde, John Miller Lawson and Bryant Anthony also had one hit apiece.
Raper, Austen Baker and Trey Leindecker each had three hits for Phil Campbell in Friday's series opener, and the Bobcats scored eight runs over the final three innings to turn a relatively tight game into a runaway win.
Swinney (9-0) carried a no-hitter into the sixth and finished with 10 strikeouts in 6.1 innings, reaching double-figures in a game for the sixth time this season. The junior right-hander allowed five earned runs (four of which came in the bottom of the seventh) on six hits and four walks before turning things over to Baker, who recorded the final two outs to finish off the win.
The Bobcats struck first with two runs in the top of the second, loading the bases on a single by Leindecker, a walk and an error. Barnwell walked to force home a run, and Levi Crittenden scored when Swinney reached on another error to make it 2-0.
Phil Campbell added to the lead in the top of the third when Raper singled and scored on Leindecker's triple to right, the fifth three-bagger of his varsity career. Swinney, meanwhile, was cruising, retiring eight men in a row after hitting Harris with a pitch to start the game.
The Bobcats took advantage of another Fyffe miscue to score two more runs in the top of the fifth. Hyde walked, Leindecker singled, and both runners came home when Anthony reached on an error to make it 5-0.
Swinney struck out the side in the bottom of the inning and had faced the minimum 15 batters through five. He led off the top of the sixth with a triple, his team-leading 27th extra-base hit of the season, and scored on a groundout by Lawson to make it 6-0. Raper added an RBI single to stretch the lead to 7-0.
Will Stephens broke up Swinney's no-hit bid with a leadoff single in the bottom of the sixth. Swinney struck out the next two batters, a pair of walks loaded the bases. Rowell got the Red Devils on the board with an RBI single, but Swinney struck out Cowart to keep it a 7-1 game.
The Bobcats put the game out of reach with four runs in the top of the seventh, getting a two-run single from Baker and an RBI single from Lawson to make it 11-1. Fyffe put up a fight in the bottom half, getting an RBI single from Stephens, an RBI double from Jake Wooden and a two-run single from Harris that cut the lead to 11-5 and chased Swinney. Baker relieved and allowed a hit before retiring Rowell and Cowart to seal the deal.
Baker finished 3-for-4 in Game 1 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Leindecker went 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs, and Raper was 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run. Swinney went 1-for-4 and scored twice, and Lawson was 1-for-4 with two RBIs. Anthony had one hit, and Crittenden scored two runs.
Cowart (9-2) took the loss, allowing five runs (one earned) on six hits in five innings. He struck out five and walked four. Godwin, who had allowed only three earned runs all season in 15.2 innings, pitched in relief and gave up five earned runs on five hits in 1.1 innings.
Phil Campbell now turns its attention to Game 3, which is scheduled for noon on Saturday. Raper, the team's best and most experienced pitcher, is lined up to take the mound with a semifinal berth on the line--just as he did in May of 2019 in Game 3 of a quarterfinal series against Winfield. Raper, then a sophomore, dominated the Pirates that day with 12 strikeouts and no walks in a six-inning complete game as the Bobcats cruised into the semifinals.
Raper is yet to pitch in these playoffs, but he's 7-1 on the season with a 0.52 ERA, 68 strikeouts and only five walks in 40 innings. He owns a 24-3 record in his varsity career with a 1.63 ERA, 246 K's in 171.2 innings, 11 complete games, seven shutouts and three no-hitters.
