Bobcats eliminated by Vinemont in playoffs

Phil Campbell was eliminated after losing game three to Vinemont on Monday afternoon, 15-5.  

Phil Campbell ended the season as Franklin County champions and area champions. They won more than 20 games and the teams they lost to are still in the playoffs.  

Bentley Hill and Braxton Mayfield got back-to-back solo home runs, but it was too little, too late. 

The Bobcats and the Eagles split their Class 3A second-round playoff doubleheader on Friday, setting the stage for a winner-take-all game three on Monday afternoon. The Bobcats salvaged the nightcap with a 9-5 victory after falling to the Eagles 12-2 in the opening game. 

Phil Campbell demonstrated resilience in the second game, bouncing back from a lopsided loss to keep its playoff hopes alive. After Vinemont took an initial 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, the Bobcats responded by tying the score in the second and taking a 3-1 lead in the third. However, Vinemont roared back with a four-run fourth inning to regain the lead at 5-3. 

Undeterred, the Bobcats rallied in the late innings, scoring three runs in both the fifth and sixth frames to secure the 9-5 victory. Phil Campbell’s offense found its rhythm, amassing nine runs on 10 hits, while holding Vinemont to five runs despite the Eagles collecting 13 hits. 

Isaac Duboise earned the win for the Bobcats, pitching six and a third innings and allowing four earned runs. Cohl Welborn came on to secure the save.  

Offensively, Koltin Hester had a key performance, collecting two hits, including a bases-loaded, bases-clearing three-RBI single in the fifth inning that gave Phil Campbell the lead for good.  

PHOTO BY BART MOSS – Cohl Welborn scoops up a ground ball at third base.

PHOTO BY BART MOSS – Isaac Duboise got the game-two win for Phil Campbell.

PHOTO BY BART MOSS – Koltin Hester drives in go-ahead runs for Phil Campbell in game two.