No. 8 PC forces Game 3
By Staff
Kim West
PHIL CAMPBELL – It was a tale of two games for No. 8 Phil Campbell in the second round of the Class 2A playoffs against Westbrook Christian.
In the opener, the Bobcats pounded out 12 runs and forced the game to end in the fifth inning via the mercy rule as Phil Campbell senior Jonathan Dill pitched a 12-1 victory.
Dill went five innings, allowing only one run with two walks and two strikeouts.
Phil Campbell scored two runs in the first inning but Westbrook Christian responded with a run in the top of the second to cut the Bobcats' lead to 2-1.
Phil Campbell pushed across a third run in the bottom of the second and added four more runs in the third to lead 7-1. The Bobcats piled on two runs in the fourth and three in the fifth to make it 12-1.
Korey Pounders, Stephen Lacey and Dillan Hamby led Phil Campbell at the plate with three hits apiece, while Caleb Thompson had two and Jake Dill added one.
In Game 2, Lacey hit his sixth home run of the year with a solo shot to left field that gave Phil Campbell a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning.
But the Bobcats produced just two hits and stranded five runners over the final four innings against Jake King, who pitched a complete-game victory for Westbrook Christian (16-8), allowing six hits and three walks and striking out five.
The Warriors took a 2-1 lead in the sixth inning as Jared Cornutt and Rafael Rosas each scored.
Adam Mitchell took the loss for Phil Campbell (23-11), allowing one run, four walks and five hits and striking out four.
Pounders, Dill, Thompson and Jordan Benford each singled for the Bobcats, while Lacey had two hits and an RBI.
"We had a lot of runs in the first game but after that home run, everyone seemed to be trying to hit one out – we've got to be more mature than that and focus on just hitting the ball," Phil Campbell coach Michael Beck said.
"I thought we played two good games with one bad inning and we've still got Stephen left to throw (Saturday). I think we have a good chance to win Game 3."
