It was a trying few days for the Russellville High School varsity baseball team, who suffered a sweep at the hands of area rival Lawrence County last week. The damp and soggy weather conditions seen throughout the week—and which saw the area doubleheader pushed back a day from Thursday to Friday—served as an apt metaphor as the Golden Tigers were downed by the Red Devils 7-6, 5-3, and 17-15 in what was effectively the area championship series.
“Tip of the cap to Lawrence County,” Russellville head coach Jess Smith said. “They’re a senior-heavy, senior-led team; they performed and played extremely well and competed at a really high level. I think those guys did a great job of executing their game plan.
“I think we competed hard. I just don’t think that, in a high-stakes, high-emotion (series) like that, that we were able to overcome a lot of our mistakes,” he added.
Russellville (19-8), now on a four-game slide after its 12-game winning streak ended during spring break, fell just short in all three games against the Red Devils after having to fight from behind in each.
In game one, the Golden Tigers fell behind 6-1 after six innings but mounted the comeback with their last three outs, scoring five runs in the top of the seventh to tie the game up 6-6.
In fact, RHS scored all five of its runs in the inning with just one out to play with.
Back-to-back singles to lead off the inning were followed by a strikeout, a walk, and a ground out. That sent senior designated hitter Neyland Baker to the plate with two outs. Baker delivered with an RBI single that scored Tripp Cleveland to make it 6-2. Consecutive bases-loaded walks issued by the Red Devils then cut the hosts’ lead to 6-4. The comeback was completed during the next at-bat when Ty Engelthaler’s two-RBI double into right field scored Brennon Thorpe and Malachi Groce to tie the game up heading into the home half of the seventh.
Unfortunately for the Golden Tigers, they could not keep the Red Devils from crossing home plate in the bottom half of the inning. A couple of walks put Lawrence County in scoring position before an RHS error led to the Red Devils scoring the walk-off run.
“Defensively, game one, we had five physical errors plus three or four mental ones that were big-time difference makers,” Smith said. “Even though we made a late push and tied it up, it was still those mistakes there that got us in the last inning.”
In the first game of the doubleheader later in the week (game one, which was four innings in, was delayed until the following day due to weather), the two teams battled closely through six innings with the visitors taking a narrow 3-2 lead over the Golden Tigers going into the bottom of the seventh inning.
Once again, the RHS bats came through late to tie the game up. This time it was Brayden Entrekin who brought in Malachi Groce from third base on a sac fly. That sent the game to extra innings; but once again, it was Lawrence County that ultimately came out on top.
In the top of the eighth, an RBI single and a passed ball allowed two Red Devil runners to score to make it 5-3. In the home half, Russellville was unable to answer the call and the visitors captured the game and series.
“We had to battle through some adversity. We finally caught some momentum with a lead off double and had gotten out of a major, major jam there in the top of the fourth with the bases loaded and didn’t allow any runs. Some momentum was going our way and then the heavens open up and the field becomes unplayable,” Smith said. “So we come back next day and we battled back and that game ended up in extra innings.
“If you look at (Lawrence County’s) 15 hits to our five and you’re in an extra inning baseball game, you can’t say your guys aren’t competing,” he added. “We found a way to push it into extra innings despite all the adversity. In the end, we just couldn’t overcome our own mistakes in those first two games.”
The series finale, a shootout that saw 32 runs, 29 hits, and seven errors, also ended in a Russellville defeat.
After falling behind 4-0, Russellville rebounded to take a 7-4 advantage in the third inning. After that, though, Lawrence County put up crooked numbers in the next three innings to go up 17-9 and once again put the Golden Tigers in the unenviable position of playing catch-up.
To Russellville’s credit, the hosts fought back in the sixth and scored six runs to pull them within two runs of the Red Devils, but it wasn’t enough in the end and the Golden Tigers fell 17-15.
Coltan Oliver got the start on the mound for the Golden Tigers, one of five arms Russellville threw in the game. At the dish, RHS had three players—Entrekin, Engelthaler, and Tristan Ray—with three RBI each. Senior Ty Willis finished with two RBI and five players ended the contest with two or more runs scored.
Despite the loss, Smith saw a silver lining to the game: the Golden Tigers finished with 15 hits and were swinging the bat well.
“I think that was huge for our offense,” the third-year Russellville head coach said. “Some people might look at it as a meaningless game three, but the fact that we were stagnant offensively in two games and then responded in game three against truly one of Lawrence County’s better arms, that’s big.
“Rattle off 15 hits and score a ton of runs and get some guys going again, that’s what it’s all about and that’s what this next week is going to be about—getting back hot again,” Smith added. “The result was a sweep, but the positive is some guys that maybe haven’t produced or kind of cooled down at the plate got it going again in that third game. That’s huge going into an important area series.”
Russellville’s attention now turns to West Point and the final area series of the season. The Golden Tigers will host the Warriors on Tuesday, April 8, the team’s senior recognition night, before traveling to Cullman for a doubleheader on April 10.
Smith said the goal for his team is to learn from the Lawrence County series, get back to winning ways against West Point, and continue to improve ahead of a push into the postseason.
“I don’t think losing is fun for anyone, especially losing to Lawrence County. It’s not enjoyable, but it’s not the end,” he said. “This team is allowed to learn and grow from this experience, not just in ability but more so in their mental ability in those tough moments. I think we’re better prepared for the road that lays ahead. All year this team has been asked to respond and they don’t go away easily.
“The blessing is that the way we played this week, in years past since I’ve been here, when we played that way our season ended in the quarterfinals. This moment, even though it doesn’t feel good, doesn’t result in the end of the season, so it allows us to more or less hit the reset button, you know, and get some of these mistakes fixed.
“This series (against West Point) is an important one. We need to sweep not just for playoff standings, we need to sweep for what we’re trying to accomplish, which is sweep every series from here on out,” Smith added. “I think the toughest win to get is the first one after a losing streak of four games, but every game from now on is going to take toughness.
“There have been a lot of times this season that toughness, that’s been our edge. We still have it; it’s not going anywhere. It’s still our greatest tool,” he said. “I’m encouraged by the response so far, and I’m ready to see what they do.”
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