Lacey, Bobcats defend county championship again
By Staff
Mike Self, Franklin County Times
VINA – Taking into account that Phil Campbell has played in the Class 2A state finals each of the past two years, one might guess that the Bobcats no longer place as much emphasis on winning the Franklin County Tournament.
Guess again.
"We're expected to win it, and we treat it just like we're playing for a state championship," said junior pitcher Steven Lacey, who helped the Bobcats win their thirteenth consecutive county title on Friday with a 7-1 win over Red Bay. "We approach it with the same mindset."
Lacey held the Tigers (18-7) to just one run on five hits in six innings while striking out eight, helping the Bobcats (8-11) put the finishing touches on a perfect 5-0 run through the tournament and continue their dominance of county foes.
"The county tournament is very important to us," head coach Micheal Beck said. "I don't think people realize how much it means to us. It's one of those things where if you don't win it, people will think you've fallen off. Our kids expect to win, and they take a lot of pride in it."
This year's new format, which featured two days of round-robin play prior to Friday's single-elimination tournament, placed a greater importance on pitching depth, and Phil Campbell was certainly up to the task. After rallying for a 9-8 win over Red Bay in their tournament opener, the Bobcats allowed only six runs total over their final four games.
"We rolled the dice and threw some our young guys earlier in the week, and they stepped up big for us," Beck said. "Then Steven came out and pitched a great game tonight. He had good command of all of his pitches. He really wanted the ball for this one. We gave it to him, and he did the rest."
Lacey, who struck out the side in the third inning and lost his bid for a shutout in the sixth, said he had been looking forward to facing the Tigers for a while.
"I don't like Red Bay," he said. "This is a huge rivalry for us, and I really wanted to pitch. I was telling Coach Beck all week, 'I want Red Bay.'"
The Bobcats provided Lacey with plenty of offensive support. Caleb Thompson's two-run single in the top of the first staked Phil Campbell to an early lead, and Chase White doubled and scored in the fourth to make it 3-0.
Jonathan Dill delivered an RBI single in the fifth, and Korey Pounders and Lacey each drove in a run in the sixth to make it 6-0.
A run-scoring infield hit by Cody Armstrong in the bottom of the sixth got Red Bay on the board, but White answered with an RBI infield single of his own in the seventh to make it 7-1.
White finshed with three hits in the game, as did Pounders and Dillan Hamby. Hamby had a pair of doubles, and Lacey, Thompson, Dill and Adam Mitchell each added one hit.
"We had some guys step up and hit the ball well for us the last few days, especially towards the bottom of the order with guys like Chase White, Dillan Hamby and Jordan Benford," Beck said. "We've played a tough schedule so far, and these guys have faced some tough pitching. You hope to see that pay off in situations like this. Our guys have played in some big games, and it helps when you've been there before."
Red Bay's pitching plans were thrown out of whack when senior lefthander Brandon Brown injured his knee on a steal attempt in a semifinal win over Vina.
Brown still started the game against Phil Campbell but hobbled off the mound in the first inning due to pain and stiffness in his leg.
Stephen Prestage relieved and delivered a solid performance, but Lacey was just too tough for the Tigers.
Armstrong and Ely Cox each had two hits for Red Bay, and Morgan Stanfield added a single and a run scored.
Pounders pitched the final inning for Phil Campbell.
In previous action:
Phil Campbell 11 Belgreen 0
Adam Mitchell tossed a two-hit shutout, and Dillan Hamby and Chase White each had two hits and two RBIs to lead the Bobcats to Friday's semifinal win.
Caleb Thompson had three hits and two runs scored for Phil Campbell, which jumped on top early with three runs in the top of the first inning.
Mitchell struck out five and did not walk a batter, needing only 58 pitches to get through six innings.
Korey Pounders added two hits for Phil Campbell.
Jordan Williams and Ben Britnell each had one hit for Belgreen.
Phil Campbell 15 Belgreen 4
Jonathan Dill tripled, doubled and scored three runs to lead the Bobcats in Thursday's rout.
Jordan Benford and Korey Pounders each had a triple and two runs scored, and Caleb Thompson was the wining pitcher.
Marty Britton led Belgreen with two hits, and five other players had one hit each.
