J.R. Tidwell/FCT Red Bay’s Austin Malone (10) winds up to make a warm-up pitch against Phil Campbell at Red Bay on Monday afternoon. Malone was the winning pitcher in the game.

RED BAY — If the Red Bay Tigers sweep the Phil Campbell Bobcats in the series, they will have a solid chance at taking the driver’s seat in the area.

Red Bay took one step towards that goal Monday evening by defeating the Bobcats 7-5 at home.

“It is always a good game between us,” Red Bay head coach Donnie Hastings said. “We do well when we have our pitching set. Our defense did well, and we got some timely hitting. This is definitely a big win for us.”

Neither team wasted any time putting runs on the board in the game.

Phil Campbell started off in the top of the first with singles by Austin Jones and Cameron Harris.

Craig Saint gave the Bobcats an early lead with a two-RBI single to right field.

Red Bay scored a run of its own in the bottom of the inning.

Austin Malone hit a single followed by a hit by Austin Thorn. Two wild throws allowed Malone to score.

The Tigers tied the game in the bottom of the second with one swing of the bat by Ethan Bolton. He got every possible piece of a pitch from Phil Campbell’s Jones and went yard over the right center field wall, hitting the roof of a red pickup truck in the process.

The Bobcats regained the lead in the top of the third when Brock Malone brought a run in followed by another run on an error.

The Tigers narrowed the gap in the bottom of the inning when Austin Thorn brought in Matt Montgomery on an RBI single.

The Bobcats had a chance to extend its lead in the top of the fifth after Saint hit a stand-up triple, but Phil Campbell was unable to capitalize.

Red Bay had a big inning in the bottom of the sixth, allowing them to take the lead. Austin Milam was able to touch home after a groundball from Nick Thorn led to a wild throw. Tyler Hastings then scored Blanton by ripping a single to shallow center field.

Malone scored Nick Thorn and Tyler Hastings on a two-RBI single to shallow center to set the Tigers lead at 7-4.

Phil Campbell mounted a comeback in the top of the seventh. Jones and Harris both reached base on walks. Brock Malone then advanced the runners on a fielder’s choice. A walk by Saint loaded the bases, and Justin Knight brought in Jones on an RBI single.

“Phil Campbell is good at making big plays,” Donnie Hastings said.”

Red Bay ended the comeback attempt after that, giving them the 7-5 win.

“A couple of times we had the bases loaded and hit the ball right to a fielder,” Phil Campbell head coach Darren Welborn said. “We made two critical errors in the bottom of the sixth. Red Bay has a good team.”

Austin Malone picked up the win for Red Bay. He pitched all seven innings, giving up five runs off seven hits with three strikeouts and six walks.