Local baseball roundup, March 9-14: Red Bay extends winning streak to six games
Here’s a look at the baseball action from teams around Franklin County:
Tuesday, March 10
Wilson 17, Belgreen 1
Florence 7, Russellville 5
Red Bay 9, Hatton 7
Colbert Heights 21, Tharptown 3
Mars Hill 3, Phil Campbell 0
Thursday, March 12
Belgreen 6, Carbon Hill 1
Phil Campbell 14, Sulligent 4
Phil Campbell used a big eight-run third inning to run-rule Sulligent in five innings in the Bobcats’ final game of the week. PCHS went up 3-0 after two innings before really turning on the offense in the third. After a Sulligent error made it 4-1 to start the inning, the Bobcats drove in two more on RBI singles by Reed Jackson and Cody Sneed. PCHS then pushed three more runs on RBI fielder’s choices before Chandler Benford made it 10-1 on another RBI single. PCHS rounded out the scoring in the inning on a Sage Morgan RBI single in the next at-bat. Phil Campbell made it a 10-run game in the top of fifth by plating three more runs via a passed ball and a two-run single by Sneed. Offensively, Sneed finished with two hits and two RBIs, designated hitter Isaac Duboise had a team-high three RBIs, and Benford came around three times. On the bump, PCHS threw four pitchers who combined to allow just one hit. It was Morgan put in the most work between them, though, tossing three hitless innings while striking out six batters.
Phil Campbell finished the week with an 8-5 overall record.
Red Bay 12, Sheffield 0
Red Bay dominated the home team Bulldogs to give the Tigers their fourth double-digit run win and fifth shutout of the campaign. The Tigers took a 3-0 lead in the second innings and added solo runs in the third and fifth innings, but their biggest inning was the fourth when they plated seven runs. Shortstop Jeremiah Thorne had a 3-for-4 day at the plate—including two RBIs and three runs scored—accounting for a third of Red Bay’s nine hits. On the mound, Landyn Lewey threw a near-perfect five-inning game, not allowing a hit and giving up just two bases on balls. Lewey recorded five strikeouts in the win.
Russellville 9, Hamilton 1
Behind impressive performances from Jackson Smith and Caleb Hawkins, the Golden Tigers snapped their nine-game losing streak with a victory over the Class 4A Hamilton Aggies. Smith did his job both on the mound and at the plate for RHS: the starting pitcher tossed all seven innings and held the Aggies to one unearned run off just two hits while also helping himself out with his bat with two hits and three RBIs. Jackson hit a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth inning to give Russellville a 6-0 lead. His teammate, the left fielder Hawkins, was a perfect 3-for-3 with three runs scored and three RBIs. Hawkins hit two homers in the game, a solo home run in the third to make it 3-0 and a two-run homer in the sixth to give RHS a 9-0 advantage.
The Golden Tigers would go on to end the week with a 3-12 overall record.
Friday, March 13
Red Bay 8, Decatur Heritage 7
The Tigers concluded their perfect week and extended their winning streak to six games with a come-from-behind win over the hosting Eagles. After taking an initial 5-0 advantage, Decatur Heritage plated seven unanswered runs to go up 7-5 after four innings. The visitors cut the deficit back to one run in the top of the fifth thanks to an RBI walk drawn by Landyn Lewey. The Tigers completed the comeback in the following inning by scoring two runs via an RBI single from Aiden Pruitt and then a passed ball that scored C Collins from third base. On the bump, Red Bay threw four arms, but it was Pruitt that was credited with the win. Pruitt threw two flawless innings in the fifth and sixth before Carson McGee came in in the seventh to successfully earn the save.
At the end of the week, Red Bay’s record stood at 8-1.
Saturday, March 14
James Clemens 4, Russellville 3
Hazel Green 15, Russellville 0
Belgreen 8, Colbert Heights 3
Noah Scott’s three RBI day helped lead the Bulldogs to a five-run win to close out the week. After falling behind 1-0 to start, Belgreen plated three runs in the bottom of the first on back-to-back RBI doubles by Rush Berryman and Scott. BHS added another run in the second and then put two more past Colbert Heights in the third via a two-run single by Braden Hamilton to make it 6-1. Belgreen’s final two runs were scored in the sixth inning thanks to an RBI fielder’s choice and a sac fly by Scott that scored Colton Ashton. Ashton would later come in in relief of Hamilton, who threw six innings and earned the win after allowing two earned runs off five hits. Hamilton finished the game with 10 strikeouts.
BHS improved to 6-5 overall.