RHS, PC advance to quarterfinals

By Staff
Kim West
Two local baseball teams are still alive as Russellville and Phil Campbell each came away with deciding Game 3 victories after splitting the first two games of their second-round state playoff series last weekend.
Russellville, ranked eighth in Class 5A, will play at No. 7 Hartselle Friday at 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. with Game 3 scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday, if necessary.
Phil Campbell, ranked eighth in Class 2A, will travel to No. 5 Ranburne, which eliminated the Bobcats from the playoffs in 2006 and 2007. Games 1 and 2 are scheduled for 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Friday, and Game 3 will be at noon Saturday, if needed.
Phil Campbell 14
Westbrook Christian 0
PHIL CAMPBELL – Stephen Lacey went the distance on the mound and fellow senior Jonathan Dill drove in three runs as Phil Campbell eliminated Westbrook Christian 14-0 Saturday in Game 3.
The Bobcats (24-11), which won the opening game 11-1 and lost 2-1 in Game 2, exploded for eight runs in the second inning as Dillan Hamby drove in three runs with his first homer of the season.
Lacey allowed only two hits while striking out five, and Dill went 3-for-3 with a single, double and triple and three runs scored.
Russellville 5
Mortimer Jordan 4
MORRIS – Russellville came back from a 3-2 loss to Mortimer Jordan in the opener to beat the Blue Devils 8-6 Friday and 5-4 Saturday.
In Saturday's win, sophomore Ryan Romans didn't allow an earned run in relief and senior Jacob Daniel drove in four runs, including the game-winner in the top of the seventh.
The Golden Tigers (35-12) went up 3-0 in the first inning as Daniel sent his third home run this season over the left field wall to bring around Jake Ward, who went 3-for-3 with three singles and three runs, and Corey Flanagan, who went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two singles.
Mortimer Jordan tied the game with three runs in the bottom of the second but Russellville scored again in the fifth inning to take a 4-3 lead as Ward singled and came home on a wild pitch.
The Blue Devils (25-20) responded in the bottom of the sixth as John Burrows, who went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, singled and scored on a passed ball to tie the game at 4-4.
Ward and Flangan both singled in the top of the seventh and Daniel, Russellville's cleanup hitter, laced a one-out single up the middle to give the Golden Tigers a 5-4 lead.
Romans, who went six innings with six strikeouts and five walks with no earned runs, retired the top of Mortimer Jordan's batting order to earn the win.