The opponent and the venue were different, but the script was eerily familiar for Phil Campbell.
Just as they did the previous week in a quarterfinal series at Fyffe, the Bobcats dominated Game 1 of their semifinal showdown with Piedmont on Thursday afternoon, getting a two-run homer and a one-hit shutout from two-way stud Mason Swinney in a 13-0 rout.
Then, just like last week, the Bobcats carried a slim lead into the final inning of Game 2, moving to within three outs of sweeping the series and punching their ticket to the next round.
Unfortunately for Phil Campbell, the similarities didn't end there. Just as Fyffe did the previous week, Piedmont rallied to score three runs in its final at bat, saving its season and extending the series with a 7-6 win.
Now the Bobcats are hoping the pattern continues, with senior ace Ridge Raper (fresh off last week's Game 3 shutout of Fyffe) set to take the mound with a chance to secure Phil Campbell's first trip to Montgomery since 2006. Game 3 between the Bobcats (37-5) and the Bulldogs (34-6) is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Friday.
After cruising to a five-inning win in Thursday's series opener, Phil Campbell jumped out to a quick lead in Game 2 with three runs in the top of the first. Piedmont starter Aaron Jackson Hayes hit Luke Barnwell and Mason Swinney to start the game, and both runners moved up on a passed ball. Austen Baker delivered a two-run single to get the Bobcats on the board, and Raper added an RBI single to make it 3-0.
Phil Campbell starter Luke Barnwell worked a one-two-three bottom of the first and then stranded a pair of runners in the second. The Bobcats padded their lead in the top of the third when Baker reached on an error and later scored on a sac fly by Bryant Hyde to make it 4-0.
Hayes came through with a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the third to get Piedmont on the board. The Bulldogs then loaded the bases in the bottom of the fourth on a single, a hit batter and an error, and McClane Mohon tied the game with a three-run double to left. Barnwell walked the next batter and was lifted for Baker, who struck out Omarion Foster to end the inning.
Phil Campbell immediately reclaimed the lead in the top of the fifth when Baker was hit by a pitch and eventually scored on Trey Leindecker's sac fly. Baker then worked around a two-out single in the bottom of the fifth and stranded a pair of runners in the sixth to keep it a 5-4 game.
The Bobcats added an insurance run in the top of the seventh when Raper stroked his 11th double of the season to right, moved to third on a passed ball and scored on a pickoff attempt to make it 6-4.
Phil Campbell needed just three outs at that point to book a trip to Montgomery, but Piedmont opened the bottom of the seventh with back-to-back singles by Hayes and Sean Smith. Bobcat coach Jonathan Raper lifted Baker and went back to Swinney, who had needed only 74 pitches to toss his third shutout of the season in Game 1.
Swinney hit Jadon Calhoun with a pitch to load the bases, and the Bobcats committed an error on Foster's hard-hit groundball to short. Hayes and Smith both scored to tie the game, and Calhoun scored the winning run on another Phil Campbell error to send the series to a do-or-die Game 3.
Swinney, who had improved to 10-0 on the season with his Game 1 shutout, took the loss in Game 2. Baker allowed two runs (both unearned) on three hits in 2.2 innings, striking out two and walking one. Barnwell gave up four runs (three earned) on five hits in 3.1 innings, striking out three and walking one.
Hayes went the distance to earn the win for Piedmont, allowing six runs (three earned) on seven hits in seven innings. He struck out four and walked three.
Raper and Bryant Anthony each went 2-for-3 with a double, and Levi Crittenden also had a double. Baker was 1-for-3 with two RBIs and three runs scored, and Swinney went 1-for-3 with a run.
Phil Campbell made short work of the Bulldogs in Game 1, breaking up a scoreless tie with eight runs in the bottom of the third and then adding five more in the fourth. Crittenden and Barnwell sparked the big third inning with singles, and Crittenden scored the game's first run on an error. Swinney then smacked a 3-2 pitch over the fence in center for a two-run homer, his eighth of the season, to make it 3-0.
Following Swinney's long ball, the Bobcats loaded the bases on singles by Baker and John Miller Lawson and a walk to Raper. Baker scored when Hyde reached on an error, and Leindecker came through with a two-run double. Hyde scored on another error, and Anthony capped the eight-run outburst with an RBI double to center.
That was plenty of support for Swinney, who escaped a second-and-third, one-out jam in the top of the first with a strikeout and a groundout and then cruised the rest of the way. He retired 14 of the final 15 batters he faced and finished with six strikeouts and no walks in his fifth complete game of the season.
Phil Campbell took advantage of three errors, a walk and three hits (including RBI singles by Raper and Leindecker) to tack on five more runs in the bottom of the fourth.
Leindecker was 2-for-3 in Game 1 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Lawson went 2-for-3 and scored twice, and Crittenden was 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run. Baker and Raper each went 1-for-2 with two runs scored, and Anthony was 1-for-3 with an RBI. Barnwell went 1-for-4 with a run, and Hyde drove in two runs and scored two more.
The Bobcats' hopes of reaching their first state finals in 15 years now rest squarely on the right arm of Raper, who is 8-1 this season with only three earned runs allowed in 45 innings (an ERA of 0.47). He has struck out 72 batters and walked only six while tossing six complete games, four shutouts and one no-hitter, his third as a Bobcat.
Raper is 25-3 in his varsity career with a 1.58 ERA and 250 strikeouts in 176.2 innings.
