The Phil Campbell High School varsity baseball team is the 2025 Franklin County Tournament champion.
Knocking off Tharptown 16-0 in the opening round, the Bobcats advanced to the tournament final against Red Bay and beat the Tigers 4-3 to claim the county crown on Saturday, March 8.
“Winning the county is something we are always proud of. It’s a goal that we set every year,” Phil Campbell head coach Griffin Harris said. “Win the county, win the area, and (in the) playoffs anything can happen. Just hope you’re getting hot and playing good baseball at that point.”
Phil Campbell (8-3) made quick work of Tharptown to start the day Saturday, run-ruling the Wildcats in five innings. The Bobcats scored three runs in the bottom of the third, five in the second, tacked on another in the third, and then scored seven runs in the fourth.
Phil Campbell’s Isaac Duboise pitched a perfect game on the mound, going all five innings and striking out eight batters.
At the plate, Duboise helped himself out with a two-hit, two-RBI game. Third baseman Hagen Raper, who was batting leadoff, and shortstop Koltin Hester also led the way in the RBI department with two each; both had three runs scored, as well.
In the championship round, Phil Campbell was pitted against Red Bay (6-3), who beat Vina 16-0 and Belgreen 14-1 to advance to the final.
A back-and-forth affair, the Tigers took the lead 1-0 in the top of the first thanks to an RBI single by Carson McGee to score Dallas Terrell. Phil Campbell took its first lead an inning and a half later in the bottom of the second, scoring two runs: an RBI single by Shooter Motes scored Bentley Hill to tie it up and then a balk by Red Bay pitcher Ty Reynolds scored Braxton Mayfield from third to make it 2-1, PCHS.
Red Bay tied the game back up in the fourth on an RBI single by Harley Strickland and then retook the lead in the fifth on a sacrifice fly by McGee to make it 3-2. But Phil Campbell wasn’t done yet, responding immediately in the bottom half of the inning. After getting a couple men on base a ground out by Hester was enough to send Chandler Benford in from third to level the game at 3-3. And what proved to be the go-ahead run that would win the county championship for the Bobcats was another costly balk by Reynolds, which sent Motes home.
Koltin Hester, who pitched a complete game for the Bobcats, then finished out the last two innings allowing a double in the top of the seventh as the only real damage done. He would finish the contest allowing three earned runs on nine hits with seven strikeouts and two walks.
Hester’s opposite number was Reynolds, who also tossed a complete game. Reynolds ended his day on the mound allowing four earned runs on four hits and recorded eight strikeouts and two walks.
In addition to revenge for a previous defeat against Red Bay, the Franklin County Tournament title is the first tangible accolade for the Bobcats, who are off to a really good start this campaign. Winners of five straight, Phil Campbell has outscored its opponents 132-35 through the opening 11 games.
“Red Bay is a rivalry game so of course anytime you can beat them is always good. I’d like to think it's a little more of a friendly rivalry than a heated rivalry. I consider (Red Bay head coach) Donovan (Hand) a good friend. We talk almost daily during baseball season. They have a great team with a stable of arms. I highly expect them to be one of the last teams standing in 2A. Donovan and his staff do a great job,” Harris said.
“Maturity and chemistry has played a big factor this year compared to last year. We have been able to play 10 to 12 guys regularly and they have all contributed and have stayed positive even though they may not be in the lineup everyday,” he added. “There were moments last year where the moment may have been too big or we needed to make a big play or get a big hit and we didn’t make it. Where this year it seems somebody has stepped up and I think that’s where our growth maturity-wise has helped us.”
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