Lady Bobcats hoping playoff experience pays off
By Staff
Mike Self, Franklin County Times
After advancing to sub-state play last season for the first time since moving to fast-pitch competition six years ago, Phil Campbell's girls are hoping to build on that success and take the next step in 2007.
"Making the playoffs last year was a big step for our program," said head coach Greg Winstead, whose Lady Bobcats lost to Tanner in the Class 2A sub-state round and finished with a record of 23-13. "That was the first time we had made it that far. Our goal this season is to take the next step and advance in the playoffs.
"Of course the ultimate goal is to get down to Montgomery and play for the state championship."
Phil Campbell's stay in the playoffs last season was a short one, but the sub-state loss to Tanner definitely left an impression.
"The one thing we learned from playing Tanner is that if you want to go deep into the playoffs, you have to be able to execute the short game," Winstead said. "They had a little girl hitting leadoff who was unbelievable. If she so much as touched the ball with the bat, she was standing on first base. I think their coach told me she had been thrown out twice all year when the ball hit the dirt.
"We've been working a lot on improving our short game, getting better at bunting and slap-bunting and moving runners over. Those are the little things you have to do to win."
Early returns have been fairly positive for the Lady Bobcats, who finished second in the NCIST Tournament at Belgreen last weekend and currently stand at 3-3 heading into Monday's game at Russellville.
"We're playing decent right now," said Winstead, who is still recovering from heart surgery he had a month ago but has been able to coach Phil Campbell's games. "Billy Fell, my assistant coach, has done a great job running practices while I've been out. We're 3-3, but all of our losses have come against quality programs and we've been competitive in every one of them."
After dropping their tournament opener to rival Colbert Heights last weekend to fall to 0-2, the Lady Bobcats won three straight games to advance to the finals. The winning streak included a 3-0 shutout of Colbert Heights in the semifinals, in which senior Melissa Russell struck out seven in a complete game three-hitter and also went 2-for-2 with three RBIs.
"That was a big win for us, because Colbert Heights has always played us really tough," Winstead said. "They've been in our area ever since we moved to fast-pitch, and I think we had only beaten them once before this year. Anytime you can beat a playoff-caliber team like Colbert Heights, it's a big win."
Russell, who struck out 37 batters in 21 innings during the tournament at Belgreen, is one of four seniors on this year's squad along with leading hitter Shelly Cooper, catcher Carrie Fell and outfielder Dashelle Morgan.
Junior Chasity Morgan has the speed to be a major weapon in the short game, as evidenced by her three stolen bases in a 5-0 win over Red Bay.
Freshman shortstop Caitlin Stancil had a strong tournament, recording two hits in the loss to Colbert Heights and then going 3-for-4 in an 18-1 win over Belgreen.
Erica Halcomb and Hannah Nix also play key roles for Phil Campbell, and sophomore Kim Clark gives Winstead a quality No. 2 pitcher behind Russell.
Clark struck out five batters in two innings of work against Belgreen.
"Our pitching will have to be strong this year," Winstead said. "Kim will probably see a lot of work for us so we can keep Melissa rested for our area games."
