PHIL CAMPBELL, Ala. – After splitting their first two games with the Bobcats on Saturday, the Vinemont Eagles returned to Phil Campbell for the rubber match on Monday. Vinemont plated nine runs in the first three innings to take an early lead and tacked on four more in the sixth to pull away with a 15-5 win, securing a spot in round three for the first time in program history. Vinemont will host Winfield in the 3A quarterfinals on Friday.
“I’m extremely proud of this group,” Eagles head coach Hunter Cornelius said. “These seniors were freshmen my first year at Vinemont and they bought into the process immediately. They’re extremely coachable and would do anything you’d ask them to do. They show up every day ready to work hard and they want to get better. We’ve just got a great group of guys, assistant coaches, and a community that has our back. It’s been a fun ride, and we hope to see it keep going.”
The Eagles got off to a fast start in the top of the first. Back to back singles from Josh Rhodes and Owen McKinney put runners on the corners and Kayden Henderson lined an RBI single left field to put Vinemont ahead 1-0. Later in the inning, Rylan McRae knocked a 2-run triple into deep center to give the Eagles a 3-0 lead. Phil Campbell pushed one run across in the bottom half of the first to cut the lead to 3-1 but the bats stayed hot for Vinemont in the top of the second.
Tucker Mauter drew a leadoff walk and Chad Reynolds was hit by a pitch to give the Eagles a pair of runners. They both advanced on a wild pitch and Mauter came around to score on a fielder’s choice to make it 4-1. Rhodes singled to right field to drive in another run and later in the inning, Travis Speer scored an error to extend the lead to 6-1. One pitch later, an RBI single from Hayden Robinson put Vinemont in front 7-1.
The Bobcats tacked on one more run in the bottom of the second to make it a 7-2 game, but the Eagles added to their lead in the top half of the third. Rush Sandlin scored on a fielder’s choice to build the lead back up to 6 and Rhodes followed with an RBI single to put Vinemont on top 9-2. A sacrifice fly allowed Phil Campbell to trim the lead to 9-3 in the bottom of the third, but the Eagles answered in the top half of the fourth. Three straight walks loaded the bases and after Reynolds ripped an RBI single to right field, three more runs scored on an error to give Vinemont a commanding, 13-3 lead.
The Bobcats hit a pair of home runs in the bottom of the sixth to cut the lead to 13-5 but the Eagles got the runs back in the top of the seventh with a 2-run single off the bat of Jake Hale. Vinemont collected the final three outs in the bottom of the seventh to seal a 15-5 win over Phil Campbell and punch its ticket to the 3A quarterfinals.
Rhodes was 4-for-5 at the plate with two RBIs in the win. Hale (one hit) lead the Eagles with four RBIs, McKinney added three hits and Reynolds (one hit) and McRae (one hit) each posted a pair of RBIs.
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