The Phil Campbell High School and Red Bay High School varsity baseball teams each captured their respective area championships last week, sweeping the competition in their final area series of the regular season.
Phil Campbell (18-11), taking two games from Colbert Heights, won the Class 3A Area 14 title last week and finished with a final area record of 6-1. Red Bay (19-6), who swept Lamar County last week, earned the Class 2A Area 10 crown with a 4-0 area record.
The Bobcats, who received votes in the latest Alabama Sports Writers Association poll on April 10, took care of business against Colbert Heights on Tuesday and Thursday of last week, defeating the Wildcats 9-2 and 12-3.
Braxton Mayfield led the charge offensively for PCHS against Colbert Heights in the first game of the series, going 2-for-2 with four RBI and a run scored in the 9-2 victory. The Bobcats scored in every inning of the game, putting up solo runs in the first four innings before cranking out a three-run fifth and a two-run sixth.
Cale Faust was the pitcher of record for the Bobcats. Faust tossed six innings, allowing two runs, one earned, off four hits while striking out 11 batters.
In game two of the series, played at Colbert Heights, Mayfield was once again a tough out: The center fielder was 3-for-4 at the dish with three RBI and a run scored. Designated hitter Koltin Hester had a similarly outstanding performance at the plate, going 2-for-4 with three RBI and a run scored.
The Bobcats notched at least one run in all but the fifth inning of the game. PCHS jumped out to an early 5-0 lead thanks to a four-run second inning. Mayfield cranked a solo home run over the left field wall to lead off the third inning to make it 6-3, before the visitors put the game away with two runs in the sixth inning and three runs in the seventh.
Isaac Duboise got the start on the bump and earned the win, tossing five and one-third innings, allowing three earned runs off four hits, and striking out seven batters. Cohl Welborn, who also came in in relief in game one, shut the door once again in game two, finishing out the final inning and two-thirds to seal the 12-3 victory.
Phil Campbell’s week ended with a 10-2 defeat at Haleyville on Saturday. The Bobcats travel to Hamilton on Monday, April 14 for their regular season finale before hosting Class 3A Area 15 runner-up Elkmont in the first round of the AHSAA playoffs on Friday, April 18.
The Red Bay Tigers, ranked No. 8 in Class 2A, grabbed 3-0 and 11-1 wins over Lamar County on Tuesday, April 8 to secure the Area 10 title.
In game one of the series, senior pitcher Ty Reynolds pitched a complete game to earn the win, allowing just three hits and one walk while striking out nine batters.
RBHS got away with four errors in the pitching duel between the two starting pitchers, but the same couldn’t be said for Lamar County, whose errors haunted them in the top of the fifth. The Tigers scored all three of their runs in the top half of the inning. A bases-loaded hit-by-pitch brought in Carson McGee as the go-ahead run. Harley Strickland, who reached base on an earlier error, came in to score from third base on a wild pitch to make it 2-0, and then a passed ball in the next at-bat scored Jaxson Swann to make it 3-0.
In the second game of the series, Red Bay turned up the offense early and run-ruled the Bulldogs in five innings.
After falling behind 1-0 in the top half of the first inning, the Tigers cranked out five runs in the bottom half thanks to multiple Lamar County errors and Red Bay’s solid small-ball hitting. RBHS scored its five runs on an error, a sacrifice bunt, a balk, and an RBI single by Ayden Pruitt.
Red Bay added one run in the third inning and then scored five runs in the fourth and fifth innings to give the Tigers the necessary 10-run advantage and trigger the mercy rule after the fifth.
Reynolds, Pruitt, McGee, and Landyn Lewey all finished with two RBI each. On the mound for the Tigers, McGee tossed all five innings and allowed just two hits while recording 10 strikeouts.
Red Bay ended its week with another two wins over Colbert Heights and Rogers to extend its current winning streak to six games. The Tigers will travel to Hackleburg for their regular season finale on Monday. Red Bay will host the runner-up of Area 11 in the first round of the playoffs on Friday.
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