The Phil Campbell High School varsity baseball team, which is receiving votes in the latest Alabama Sports Writers Association Class 3A poll, is coming off three straight wins heading into its final 3A Area 14 series of the season this week.
Phil Campbell (16-10) took its last area series against Sheffield in two games, beating the Bulldogs 5-2 on April 1 and 5-0 on April 3. The victories over Sheffield halted a four-game losing skid by the Bobcats, who dropped games to Addison, Hackleburg, Red Bay, and Winfield.
“I feel like we’ve been in similar situations to last year where we needed to get a big out or a big hit to be in a position to win, and we’ve been able to do that more this year,” Phil Campbell head coach Griffin Harris said. “We maybe don’t do it as consistently as I’d like because we do struggle at times, but I feel like we’ve grown up a bit and having that year of experience has helped this season.”
In the first game of the series against Sheffield on April 1, PCHS pitcher Cale Faust got the start and the win at home, tossing four and two-thirds innings, allowing two earned runs off one hit, and striking out three batters. Isaac Duboise, who came in in relief of Faust, earned the save.
“Cale Faust started for us the first game and pitched really well until he kind of hit a wall,” Harris said. “We went to the bullpen and brought Isaac Duboise in. He’s done a really good job coming out of the ‘pen and throwing strikes.”
Offensively, Phil Campbell put up a crooked number three in the third inning sandwiched between solo runs scored in the second and fourth innings. A sacrifice fly by Braxton Mayfield in the second inning opened up the scoring. In the third, a Sheffield error allowed two runs to score and then a Cohl Welborn sac fly brought in the Bobcats’ fourth run of the game. Mayfield recorded his second RBI of the game in the fourth inning, capping the scoring for PCHS with a solo home run.
“Even though we’re on a three-game winning streak, we haven’t been swinging the bat that great recently, especially compared to earlier in the season. Sheffield made some mistakes and that’s how we were able to score our runs,” Harris said. “That’s really the story of the series: Sheffield made a couple errors and we took advantage of them.”
Up 5-0 through four, Phil Campbell allowed two runs in the fifth but Sheffield was shut down again with Duboise taking the mound. He finished out the final two and a third innings allowing one hit and striking out one batter.
Two days later, on April 3, Phil Campbell traveled to Sheffield and shutout the Bulldogs on their home turf. Isaac Duboise, who picked up the save in the previous contest, earned the win, throwing five shutout innings, striking out two, and allowing four hits in a rain-shortened game.
The Bobcats jumped on the hosts immediately, taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when an RBI single by Faust scored Chandler Benford from second base. Then, in the fourth and fifth innings, PCHS scored single runs in each. A bases-loaded walk scored Faust in the fourth, and in the fifth Benford scored on an error by the catcher to make it 3-0.
Phil Campbell capped the scoring with a two-run sixth inning that saw the Bobcats start with three straight hits. A leadoff single by Bentley Hill was followed up with an RBI single by Mayfield that scored pinch runner Alex Allison from third. The final run of the game was scored by Mayfield who came in on a line drive RBI double by Trace Duboise.
The 5-0 win improved Phil Campbell to 4-1 in area play, the Bobcats sole area defeat being against Colbert County back on March 17.
The Bobcats wrapped up the week with an 11-4 victory on the road at Lamar County. Cohl Welborn earned the win, tossing four innings, striking out four and allowing no earned runs off three hits.
Welborn is one of the players Harris said has played a key role in the Bobcats’ success both on the mound and at the plate.
“He may not always have his best stuff, but he’s a guy that’s always thrown well enough to keep us in games and give us a chance to win,” Harris said. “Offensively, he always finds a way to get on base. It may not always be pretty, but he’s right there at the top for us and always finding a way to get on.”
Koltin Hester and Cale Faust also made appearances on the mound in the win over the Bulldogs.
A tied up 3-3 ball game after four innings, Phil Campbell fell behind 4-3 in the fifth. But in the sixth the Bobcats turned their fortunes around, exploding into the lead with a five-run sixth inning and ended the game with a three-run seventh inning.
Chandler Benford led the way for PCHS at the plate with two hits, a game-high four RBI, and a run scored. Leadoff batter Hagen Raper also did his part at the plate with three hits and two walks, two RBI, and a run scored.
Phil Campbell is set to play its final area series of the regular season—one with major postseason implications—this week. PCHS will host Colbert Heights on Tuesday, April 8 before traveling to the Wildcats’ place on Thursday.
“We’ve got to win one to make the playoffs and if we sweep we’ll be the area champions, so it’s a big one for us, for sure,” Harris said.
“Coach (Eli) Fuller does a good job there. Looking at their scores can be deceiving because I don’t think their pitching is as deep as it’s been in the past, but they took two from Sheffield, and even though they didn’t fare so well against Colbert County, I definitely think if we don’t come out and play well then they can find ways to beat us,” Harris added. “It’s a very big series for us.”
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