05-14-2005, 02:50 AM
Bobcats claw past Wildcats
By Scott Turner
Sports writer
PHIL CAMPBELL -- Stephen Lacey was not about to let an opportunity to give the Phil Campbell Bobcats the early momentum slip away during the Class 2A semifinals on Friday.
The Bobcat freshman second baseman stepped to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded in a tie game with the Colbert Heights Wildcats in the third inning of game one of the best-of-three series.
"The two seniors ahead of me in the lineup weren't able to get the job done, so it was up to me," Lacey said.
Lacey delivered what turned out to be the game-winning hit in the first game of a 4-1, 9-2 doubleheader sweep by the Bobcats, advancing Phil Campbell to the state championship series for the first time in school history.
Phil Campbell (32-12) will play the Leroy-G.W. Long winner in game one of the best-of-three series at 7 p.m. Thursday at Paterson Field in Montgomery.
Game two and an if necessary game three will be held next Friday at 4 p.m. at Riverwalk Stadium.
The two teams were locked in a 1-1 tie in the first game until Lacey's two-run single gave an ailing Griffin Harris (12-0) the cushion he needed to record a victory in a pitcher's duel with Colbert Heights' Jackson Agee.
"I hit his fastball pretty good the first time I faced him," Lacey said. "He threw me a curve on the first pitch, so I was looking for a curve again. He threw me a curve again and it caught the end of my bat."
Lacey was one of several heroes for the Bobcats, starting with their pitcher in game one.
Harris admitted his arm was bothering him during the week, but was not about to tell Phil Campbell coach Michael Beck.
"I figured if I told him, he wouldn't let me pitch," Harris said. "I wanted the ball in my hands. Nothing was going to keep me from pitching in this series."
Harris didn't have his best stuff, but still managed to limit the Wildcats (22-17) to six hits. He struck out six.
"He really gutted it out," Beck said.
Catcher Randy Cochran said the Bobcats sensed something was wrong with Griffin's arm early.
"We knew we had to help him out with our bats," Cochran said.
Cochran drove in two runs during the first game on singles. He also drove in a run on another single in game two.
Jonathan Dill (7-1) helped the Bobcats win game two with both his arm and his bat.
Dill gave up five hits and struck out four to pick up the victory. He also had a three-run double in the fifth inning to break the game open.
"Both of our pitchers did a good job of shutting them down," Beck said. "That's not an easy thing to do. Colbert Heights is a very good hitting team."
Dill got into a jam in the bottom of the second with Troy Oliver hitting a double to the fence to put runners at second and third with no out in a scoreless game.
Kyle Pennington sacrificed Mitchell Dalrymple in for the game's first run, but Lacey robbed Dustin McCreless of a hit when he leaped up and snagged a lined shot at second, which prevented another run from scoring.
"I got higher than I usually get up," Lacey said.
It was one of several defensive plays made by Lacey and his teammates. He was part of four double plays.
"Our first baseman (Todd Carter) really deserves a lot of credit," Lacey said. "I really didn't do a good job with some of my throws to first."
Singles by Matt Thomas, Cochran, Kevin Lacey and Eric Glasgow in a four-run third inning staked the Bobcats out to a 4-1 lead in the second game.
Phil Campbell scored four more runs in the fifth inning to break the game open, highlighted by Dill's double.
"It felt good to hit one," Dill said. "I hadn't had a hit all day."
Thomas hit a solo home run over the left field fence in the top of the seventh to increase the Bobcats' lead to eight runs.
Colbert Heights tried to rally, but managed only one run in the bottom of the seventh when McCreless singled home Shane Wilbanks, who reached base with a single.
"We had our opportunities with men on base, especially in game one," Colbert Heights coach Scott Hunter said. "We hit the ball hard in game two, but they had them played perfectly. They just outplayed us today."
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Griffin Harris is a junior this year for Phil Campbell and may be a guy Coach Gino needs to look at for the 2006 recruiting class. He batted .511 last year and was named to the Birmingham News 3-A All-State team. Before Thursday's games, he was batting .505 and after Thursday he became 12-0 as a pitcher! The good news for PC, he's coming back next year!
I'm sure he'll be on the 2-A All-State team this year.
This could be the first time in my lifetime that PC has won a state championship in anything. I believe their last championship came in the early '50s in basketball! When I was a junior in high school, PC won their first every playoff game in football. When I was a senior, they advanced to the quarterfinals in football, basketball, and I think baseball (I know they won some playoff games in baseball, anyway).
By Scott Turner
Sports writer
PHIL CAMPBELL -- Stephen Lacey was not about to let an opportunity to give the Phil Campbell Bobcats the early momentum slip away during the Class 2A semifinals on Friday.
The Bobcat freshman second baseman stepped to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded in a tie game with the Colbert Heights Wildcats in the third inning of game one of the best-of-three series.
"The two seniors ahead of me in the lineup weren't able to get the job done, so it was up to me," Lacey said.
Lacey delivered what turned out to be the game-winning hit in the first game of a 4-1, 9-2 doubleheader sweep by the Bobcats, advancing Phil Campbell to the state championship series for the first time in school history.
Phil Campbell (32-12) will play the Leroy-G.W. Long winner in game one of the best-of-three series at 7 p.m. Thursday at Paterson Field in Montgomery.
Game two and an if necessary game three will be held next Friday at 4 p.m. at Riverwalk Stadium.
The two teams were locked in a 1-1 tie in the first game until Lacey's two-run single gave an ailing Griffin Harris (12-0) the cushion he needed to record a victory in a pitcher's duel with Colbert Heights' Jackson Agee.
"I hit his fastball pretty good the first time I faced him," Lacey said. "He threw me a curve on the first pitch, so I was looking for a curve again. He threw me a curve again and it caught the end of my bat."
Lacey was one of several heroes for the Bobcats, starting with their pitcher in game one.
Harris admitted his arm was bothering him during the week, but was not about to tell Phil Campbell coach Michael Beck.
"I figured if I told him, he wouldn't let me pitch," Harris said. "I wanted the ball in my hands. Nothing was going to keep me from pitching in this series."
Harris didn't have his best stuff, but still managed to limit the Wildcats (22-17) to six hits. He struck out six.
"He really gutted it out," Beck said.
Catcher Randy Cochran said the Bobcats sensed something was wrong with Griffin's arm early.
"We knew we had to help him out with our bats," Cochran said.
Cochran drove in two runs during the first game on singles. He also drove in a run on another single in game two.
Jonathan Dill (7-1) helped the Bobcats win game two with both his arm and his bat.
Dill gave up five hits and struck out four to pick up the victory. He also had a three-run double in the fifth inning to break the game open.
"Both of our pitchers did a good job of shutting them down," Beck said. "That's not an easy thing to do. Colbert Heights is a very good hitting team."
Dill got into a jam in the bottom of the second with Troy Oliver hitting a double to the fence to put runners at second and third with no out in a scoreless game.
Kyle Pennington sacrificed Mitchell Dalrymple in for the game's first run, but Lacey robbed Dustin McCreless of a hit when he leaped up and snagged a lined shot at second, which prevented another run from scoring.
"I got higher than I usually get up," Lacey said.
It was one of several defensive plays made by Lacey and his teammates. He was part of four double plays.
"Our first baseman (Todd Carter) really deserves a lot of credit," Lacey said. "I really didn't do a good job with some of my throws to first."
Singles by Matt Thomas, Cochran, Kevin Lacey and Eric Glasgow in a four-run third inning staked the Bobcats out to a 4-1 lead in the second game.
Phil Campbell scored four more runs in the fifth inning to break the game open, highlighted by Dill's double.
"It felt good to hit one," Dill said. "I hadn't had a hit all day."
Thomas hit a solo home run over the left field fence in the top of the seventh to increase the Bobcats' lead to eight runs.
Colbert Heights tried to rally, but managed only one run in the bottom of the seventh when McCreless singled home Shane Wilbanks, who reached base with a single.
"We had our opportunities with men on base, especially in game one," Colbert Heights coach Scott Hunter said. "We hit the ball hard in game two, but they had them played perfectly. They just outplayed us today."
-----------------------------
Griffin Harris is a junior this year for Phil Campbell and may be a guy Coach Gino needs to look at for the 2006 recruiting class. He batted .511 last year and was named to the Birmingham News 3-A All-State team. Before Thursday's games, he was batting .505 and after Thursday he became 12-0 as a pitcher! The good news for PC, he's coming back next year!
I'm sure he'll be on the 2-A All-State team this year. This could be the first time in my lifetime that PC has won a state championship in anything. I believe their last championship came in the early '50s in basketball! When I was a junior in high school, PC won their first every playoff game in football. When I was a senior, they advanced to the quarterfinals in football, basketball, and I think baseball (I know they won some playoff games in baseball, anyway).