Phil Campbell’s Ridge Raper no-hits East Lawrence Eagles
Ridge Raper was a first-inning walk from a perfect game as the junior pitcher tossed a no-hitter, beating East Lawrence 10-0 in five innings.
Raper walked the second batter of the game in the top of the first inning. From there he was perfect, striking out 10 Eagles.
Phil Campbell got on the board first when lead-off hitter Bryant Hyde scored on an error by the East Lawrence third baseman to give the Bobcats a 1-0 lead.
Phil Campbell scored two more in the bottom of the second. Luke Barnwell and Austen Baker scored on sacrifice flies to give the Bobcats a 3-0 lead.
Mason Swinney scored on an RBI-single by Raper in the bottom of the third inning to give the Bobcats a 4-0 lead.
The flood gates opened in the fifth when the Bobcats added five more runs, with Barnwell, Eli Smith, Hyde and Swinney all crossing the plate to give Phil Campbell a 9-0 lead.
Hyde and Raper had big games at the plate. Hyde went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored, while Raper went 2-for-3 with three RBIs.
In other games, Brett Saint threw a one-hit shutout of the Eagles in game two of the day, beating East Lawrence 11-0. Saint was almost as perfect as Raper from the mound. The hit was Saint’s only blemish, as he did not issue a single base on balls.
Baker had three hits and four RBIs to lead the Bobcats at the plate.
Phil Campbell beat Haleyville 8-4 Thursday, capitalizing on a shaky pitching performance by the Lions. Four pitchers combined for eight walks to just four hits. The Lions also committed four errors in the field.
Barnwell shut out the Deshler Tigers March 10 3-0. Swinney had a big day at the plate with a double and a triple, and Hyde had three hits and two RBIs.
