Local baseball roundup, March 2-7: Franklin County Tournament action, RHS falls in Heaps’ return
Here’s a look at the baseball action from teams around Franklin County:
Monday, March 2
Lamar County 4, Belgreen 2
East Lawrence 17, Tharptown 1
Tuesday, March 3
Tharptown 11, Phillips 0
THS sophomore Christopher Fretwell tossed a perfect game in the Wildcats’ five-inning road win over Phillips.
Vina 24, Cherokee 0
Cherokee 6, Belgreen 5
Mars Hill 4, Russellville 3
Leading 3-0 going into the top half of the seventh inning, the Golden Tigers gave up four runs to Mars Hill to lose 4-3 and drop to 2-6 overall. RHS plated two runs in the second inning thanks to a wild pitch and a Panthers error, then drove in a third in the sixth on a solo home run by catcher Tristan Ray. Pitchers Ty Engelthaler and Houston Askew had combined for a no-hitter through six innings; Gavin Willis came in to close but was unable to sit the Panthers down. Two Mars Hill runners reached on a single and a walk before MBHS’ Beau Willis cranked a game-tying three-run homer to right field. Mars Hill added the go-ahead and eventual game-winning run on a bases loaded walk.
Haleyville 9, Phil Campbell 5
Phil Campbell’s five-game winning streak was halted by late heroics by Haleyville. The Bobcats held a narrow 5-4 advantage going into the top of the seventh inning, but that lead quickly disintegrated when HHS put five runs past the hosts. Two RBI singles were what put Haleyville ahead but errors compounded things, allowing the Lions to increase the deficit. Phil Campbell’s five runs were scored in the fourth and fifth innings. Down 4-0 early, PCHS recouped two runs in the fourth on an RBI double by Cody Sneed and a passed ball later in the inning. In the fifth, the Bobcats took their first lead by scoring three runs on an error and two RBI singles by Chandler Benford and Jack Owens. Reed Jackson, who came in to pitch the final three innings of the game, took the loss after allowing four runs—three earned—on four hits. He struck out five batters.
Thursday, March 5
Phil Campbell 13, Winston County 1
The Bobcats mercy-ruled the Winston County Yellow Jackets in five innings in the midweek. Led by three hits from senior Hagen Raper and a two-hit, three-RBI performance from Isaac Duboise at the plate, Phil Campbell used an explosive 10-run first inning to put plenty of distance between itself and the visitors. Duboise hit an RBI single to open the scoring for PCHS; it was followed by a passed ball, RBI singles by Sage Morgan and Raper, and a second RBI single from Duboise, as well as multiple errors by WCHS. The Bobcats would go on to add another run in the second inning thanks to an RBI single from Bobby Bautista and two runs in the fourth. On the mound, Phil Campbell pitched three arms, Jack Owens, Shooter Motes, and Eli Baker. The starting pitcher, Owens, earned the win after allowing a single run off one hit.
Colbert County 18, Tharptown 10
Florence 3, Russellville 2
Covenant Christian 12, Vina 0
Friday, March 6
Red Bay 19, Vina 0
Franklin County Tournament quarterfinal
Red Bay 16, Tharptown 0
Franklin County Tournament semifinal
Phil Campbell 11, Belgreen 2
Franklin County Tournament semifinal
Red Bay 8, Phil Campbell 0
Saturday, March 7
Madison Academy 3, Russellville 1
Briarwood 6, Russellville 1
The return of former Golden Tiger head coach Chris Heaps, who orchestrated multiple state championship runs at Russellville, was soured by Heaps’ team’s downing of RHS by five runs Saturday. The Lions took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first and then added five more in the fifth inning before Russellville ended the shutout in the bottom of the sixth. The lone run for RHS was scored by Bryson Cooper. RHS starting pitcher Tripp Cleveland was stuck with the loss after allowing six earned runs on seven hits over five full innings. He finished with seven strikeouts. Johnce Knight came in in relief and tossed the last two innings; he allowed one walk but otherwise there was no damage done. The defeat dropped Russellville’s overall record to 2-9.