The Russellville High School varsity baseball team ended its campaign in the second round of the AHSAA playoffs last week after a series game three defeat to American Christian Academy on Monday, April 28.
Russellville, after suffering a 15-2 defeat in game one captured a 5-3 game two win over ACA, ranked No. 2 in Class 5A. The Golden Tigers dropped game three 9-7 and were eliminated in the second round, the earliest RHS has crashed out of the AHSAA playoffs since the 2019 season.
“Down to the very last out, there wasn’t a single moment where we didn’t feel like the series could be ours,” Russellville head coach Jess Smith said. “Proud isn’t a strong enough word to express how I feel about our players and coaches.”
After taking a 1-0 lead to start game one, ACA put up six runs in the third, five in the fourth, and three more in the fifth to run away with the contest and take the series advantage. Russellville’s two runs scored in game one were driven in by senior right fielder Brennon Thorpe.
The Golden Tigers turned things around in game two, however, beating the Patriots 5-3 behind a complete game gem by Ty Engelthaler, who struck out seven and allowed three earned runs off six hits.
Tied up 3-3 after three innings, the difference in the contest was a two-run top of the fifth by Russellville. An RBI single by sophomore Tripp Cleveland scored Darron Jones and Neyland Baker.
Cleveland would finish the game with three RBIs and Thorpe again added two more RBIs.
“I don’t think anyone in the state gave us a chance against ACA, and after that first game I think the next round opponent was probably getting ready to prepare for ACA,” Smith said. “But these guys did (in game two) what they’ve done all year, which is grind out a must-win game in a potential season-ender after being run-ruled for the first time this season. They bounced back and won and I think that speaks volumes for this team.”
The third and final game of the series was Russellville’s undoing. Six Golden Tiger errors cost the hosts as only four of their nine runs allowed were earned.
Brayden Hatton got the start on the mound for the Golden Tigers and pitched three innings before being relieved by Cleveland, who tossed the rest of the game.
Up 3-1 early thanks to a two-run home run by freshman Caleb Hawkins, Russellville surrendered five runs in the third and three more in the fourth to go down 9-5.
Russellville attempted a late comeback and cut ACA’s lead to 9-7 in the bottom of the seventh after back-to-back RBI singles by Cleveland and Hatton. But the run ultimately fell short for the Golden Tigers after Engelthaler grounded out into a game-ending double play.
“Tip your cap to ACA. They’re a very good baseball team,” Smith said. “I think until the last out there was still that belief that we could win, and you could feel that belief in our stadium. The atmosphere was great, the fans in the stadium were great. The players felt that and I think the guys in the ACA dugout could feel it, too. There was pressure there.
“I think one of our assistant coaches said it best when he said it felt like watching the greatest comeback movie ever and then the power went off. That’s just how the game went for us,” he added.
“Did we play perfectly clean? Absolutely not. Was a lot of our deficit self-inflected? Yes. But I can’t knock these guys. If you asked me if I’d rather have a team that had to play flawlessly to win at a high level or have a team that made mistakes but never let those mistakes take them out of a game, I’d take the latter a hundred times out of a hundred.”
Excluding the COVID year, the 2025 season marked 10 straight years in the postseason for the Russellville baseball program.
Smith, finishing up his third year in charge of the program, said the 2025 squad would be remembered for its perseverance and grit.
“The 2025 season was marked by a lot of ups and some downs, but more than anything it was marked by a whole lot of toughness and resilience,” Smith said. “There were players on this team that may not have had much prepping for the moments that were laid in front of them this season.
“In the preseason there were question marks. There were a lot of guys that were new faces that were gonna have to step up or serve in different roles,” he added. “In my mind, every question mark that we had was turned into an exclamation point.”
Smith said he was proud of his players, regardless of their age or circumstances, who continually pushed forward and made the season as successful as it was.
“From the seniors, some of which had previous career-altering or potential career-ending injuries, who became leaders and led us in several different categories this season to the young guys who were not only willing to follow (the seniors’) example and support them, collectively we had a group of players and coaches that believed in our mission,” Smith said. “That mission was to become the best versions of ourselves. I think we did achieve that.”
The Golden Tigers, finishing the season with a 25-12 record, posted a number of notable victories.
In the first month of the season, February, RHS went 5-3 with losses to Hazel Green and Madison Academy. The Golden Tigers followed it up with 14-2 month of March that saw them go on a 12-game winning streak and beat the likes of Mars Hill, Red Bay, Athens, Deshler, Hartselle (ranked No. 1 in Class 6A at the time), Pell City, and also earn a three-game series sweep of area foe Priceville.
The biggest downer for Russellville was its first series of April against rival Lawrence County that ended in a three-game sweep of the Golden Tigers, breaking Russellville’s streak of area championships.
The Golden Tigers finished out the regular season with a series win over West Point and another win over Mars Hill before sweeping Arab on the road in two games in the opening round of the playoffs.
It was after that that RHS was eliminated by American Christian Academy.
“I’m not naive to the fact that there are critics who say we lost to Lawrence County and got beat in the second round,” Smith said, “but I don’t think this team should be defined by that.
“Our guys, they went through the emotional aspect of one of the toughest moments that any team from Russellville has had to deal with in recent memory which is the loss to Lawrence County. They had to find a way to respond to that and they did.
“If you were around us all season and watched this team, you know that there wasn’t a single loss that occurred without one heck of a fight from our guys,” he added. “In fact, 15 of our 25 wins this season were because we came from behind, either at the midway point or at the very end of games this season.
“We experienced some turbulence with growth this season with some young guys or guys that hadn’t been in those scenarios, but what we didn’t experience was any lack of grit or fight or confidence in each other. These guys fought like heck every time their backs were against the wall.”
The Russellville head coach said that the end of every season is tough, but he feels a stronger connection with this team that has made this ending a little tougher.
“The end of every season is marked by a period of sadness. I’d have to say this period of sadness following the end of this season has drawn out longer than normal,” Smith told the FFP on Sunday. “That tells me just how big of an impact this team had on me and my life, just day-to-day getting to be around them. I miss them, you know?
“It’s really special when you have a group of guys that believe in each other and in themselves,” he added. “I think this team and a lot of these guys were overlooked, but they didn’t need the fanfare or the publicity or the recognition. They played for each other and I think that’s extremely special.
“It was a special year, and I’m really thankful to have had the opportunity to coach this group of guys. They’ve definitely made me a better coach.”
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