After suffering back-to-back shutout losses to Madison Academy, the No. 4 team in Class 5A according to Prep Baseball Report, on Feb. 22, the Russellville High School varsity baseball team rebounded with four straight wins last week to improve to 7-3 overall.
The Golden Tigers took down East Limestone, Hamilton, Itawamba (Miss.), and James Clemens over the course of five days and did so in a myriad of fashions—at times dominating and at others showing resolve to come from behind.
“Madison Academy is one of the best teams in the north in 5A and, in my opinion, one of the best teams in all classifications,” Russellville head coach Jess Smith said. “I think those two losses exposed some chinks in our armor—things both mentally and physically we needed to get fixed, and we set out last week to do that.
“I think our guys are probably still pretty exhausted from last week. We didn’t really take off, and we practiced really, really, really hard,” Smith added.
The rigorous preparation paid off for the Golden Tigers in results.
Russellville started the week off Tuesday, Feb. 25 on the road at East Limestone. In Athens the visitors put up single runs in the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth innings to take home a 4-2 victory over the Indians.
At the plate the Golden Tigers were led by freshman first baseman Caleb Hawkins, who had a 3-for-3 day which included a solo home run, two doubles, two RBI, and two runs scored. On the mound Ty Engelthaler pitched a complete game; in seven innings he allowed two earned runs off three hits, two walks, and struck out eight batters.
Two days later, on Thursday, Feb. 27, RHS hosted Class 4A Hamilton and run-ruled the Aggies 15-5 after six innings of play.
Russellville trailed Hamilton 2-0 after an inning and a half, but the offense came around starting in the bottom of the second. The Golden Tigers plated solo runs in the second and third innings, tagged on six in the fourth, two more in the fifth, and put the game on ice with five runs in the sixth.
Russellville threw a different arm in every inning; that stable of six pitchers combined for eight strikeouts and allowed only one earned run off four hits.
Four players had multi-RBI performances against the Aggies, but RHS was led by three-RBI games by freshman Brayden Entrekin and senior Ty Willis.
The Golden Tigers wrapped the week facing their stiffest competition on Saturday, March 1, when RHS took on Itawamba and James Clemens in a doubleheader.
RHS first played Itawamba, a highly-ranked, previously undefeated team out of Mississippi, beating the Indians 3-0 after a knockout, complete game pitching duel between the Indians’ Cayden Prestage—“probably the best pitcher we’ve faced all year,” according to Smith—and Russellville’s Entrekin, who allowed just three hits and struck out nine batters.
“You can’t understate how great of a performance we had on the mound from Brayden Entrekin,” Smith said. “A freshman left-hander going toe-to-toe with one of the premier left-handed arms in Mississippi that has (college) offers galore. It was awesome to see.
“I think Brayden only surrendered three hits against a lineup that is dangerous top-to-bottom with several Division I commits in there—Southern Miss, UNA. Guys that can really play,” the third-year Russellville head coach added. “He goes and attacks those hitters.”
As the two lefties battled on the mound, the game remained scoreless through the first three innings. In the top of the fourth, however, the Golden Tigers came up with a big defensive stop and the momentum began to tilt in their favor.
“I think for me the turning point of that game at 0-0 through three innings…I stopped the guys before they went out on defense in the top of the fourth and told them this is a really important inning to get a zero,” Smith said. “(Itawamba’s) catcher, who is going to play football and baseball at UNA, hit a what would’ve been a home run, but thanks to some wind and Brennon Thorpe taking (the ball) back from over the fence, that was a game changer.
“We were able to get out of that inning with a zero and we were able to start applying some pressure,” he added.
In the bottom of the fourth, a double by Entrekin got the Golden Tigers started and then an error by Itawamba moved him over to third. It was ultimately a sacrifice bunt by Hawkins that brought in Keifer Hallmark, who pinch ran for Entrekin, home to score the game’s first run.
“After that we were able to put pressure on their defense, force them into some errant throws, incorporate some fake bunt steals and some other things to try to get them out of whack,” Smith said.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Golden Tigers increased their cushion with their final two runs. Back-to-back singles by Thorpe and Bryson Cooper got the offense started and those two players later came around to score thanks to an RBI single by Engelthaler and a sac bunt by Brayden Hatton to make it 3-0.
“That was a big, big win for our guys,” Smith said. “Those guys worked really, really hard for that. It took a lot of toughness for our young and somewhat inexperienced team to go toe-to-toe with those guys.”
The Golden Tigers followed it up with another hard-fought victory in a more high-scoring fashion against Class 7A James Clemens, coming from behind to beat the Jets 12-11.
Russellville started off in a hole, going down 7-3 after two innings and then trailed 11-3 going into the bottom of the fifth.
“(James Clemens) do things that put a lot of pressure on you defensively,” Smith said. “We kinda got off to a bad start, and it felt like things kept getting away from us in a sense, so we were going into the fifth inning down 11-3.
“There was no magic pill our guys took. It was just a testament of toughness mentally and physically to just keep plugging along and make things happen and eventually we started to capitalize on some of James Clemens’ mistakes,” Smith added.
In the bottom of the fifth inning Russellville took a chunk out of the Jets’ lead, scoring three runs to make it 11-6. An RBI single by Thorpe scored Willis to make it 11-4, a passed ball scored Cooper to make it 11-5, and then an RBI single by Engelthaler scored Thorpe to give RHS its sixth run.
In the following inning, the sixth, the Golden Tigers completed the comeback with a huge six-run showing with their bats. Russellville batted all the way through the lineup and did so with nothing more than singles, a couple walks, and one error by James Clemens. Tripp Cleveland, Cooper, Tristan Ray, and Entrekin all recorded RBIs in the inning to put RHS up one run, 12-11.
Smith said the senior Willis, who was hit high by a pitch late in the sixth inning, exemplified the type of tough, team-first, winning mentality that fueled the Golden Tigers to soar past the Jets late in the game.
“Ty Willis had another outstanding performance, and something that may not stick out to a lot of people, but as a coach and with the week we had, what I’m asking these guys to buy into is the toughness piece,” he said. “Ty Willis got hit in the head around the temple area with an upper-80 mile an hour fastball…and that really terrified me.”
Willis told Smith the ball didn’t catch the helmet protecting his head, but the senior was unfazed.
“He looked up, smiled, and said, ‘I’m good. Let’s go win a ball game,’ and then took off to first,” Smith said. “I’m like, ‘Whoa, whoa!’ We’re trying to slow him down to check him for concussion protocol, but, you know, that type of toughness on display injects energy into your teammates and motivates them to be tough, too.
“From a guy who’s been serving more as a role player the last three years of his career, to be a guy who’s not only leading in several categories, whether that be offensively or defensively, but leading us in his leadership ability and with his toughness and character, that’s super special,” Smith added of Willis.
After taking the lead in the bottom of the sixth, the Golden Tigers held James Clemens scoreless for the second straight inning to seal the victory. Vital to that effect was senior right-handed pitcher Gunner Sappington, who entered the game in the top of the sixth, didn’t allow a hit, and struck out four of the six batters he faced.
“I think I pulled Gunner aside when we were down 11-3, and I didn’t know if it was going to come to fruition or not, but I told him, ‘What’s going to happen is we’re going take the lead, you’re going to come in, close this ball game out, shut the door on them and win for us,’” Smith said. “Like I said, down 11-3 I didn’t know if it would happen in that moment, but it did come to fruition and Gunner did exactly that. He shut the door on them, and I think that’s one thing we’ve been missing going into my third season as head coach here. We’ve been missing that backend, bullpen closer-type guy that comes in and throws strikes with great tempo and creates swings and misses and deflates the opposing offense where you take away any hope of a comeback from them. So, just an outstanding performance from him.”
The two very different styles of victories against Itawamba and James Clemens were massive for the young Golden Tiger team, Smith said, and the head coach hopes those wins will boost the players’ self-assurance heading into the heart of the schedule.
“I told the team Saturday is probably the proudest I’ve been of a team in one day since I’ve been a head coach,” Smith said.
“Not only was it awesome to defeat Itawamba the way that we did, to finish the day how we did against James Clemens, it’s really one of those moments where you hope it’s a season changer for you,” Smith added. “It gives you the confidence to be tough, to endure the tough times; the confidence to compete with or against some of the best pitchers in the state when that time comes, and no matter what the score is you’ve always got a chance if you stay together and commit to our plan and our approach.
“Saturday is one of those days that you hope sticks with you for the remainder of the season as a reminder that you can do this. You are tough enough, and good things happen whenever you play together, trust your teammates, and go all in.”
Up next for the Golden Tigers, on Friday, March 7, is an away contest at Madison Academy, the source of their previous defeat. A potential revenge game for Russellville, Smith said his team will hopefully carry the momentum from last week into the game and he doesn’t anticipate having to say much to get his team geared up for the battle with the Mustangs.
“They are chomping at the bit to play against one of the top teams in the north, and especially after our last showing the bitter taste is in your mouth,” he said. “It’s my belief that I think our guys are ready to go without me really having to push or motivate them or give them that coach talk. You can see it in their eyes.
“We’ve got our work cut out for us, but I’d be lying if I said I don’t think these guys are up for that challenge,” Smith added. “We’re ready for what’s ahead despite any bumps or bruises we may take along the way. I think it’s going to be an outstanding opportunity for our team, especially as we head into area play that’s quickly approaching.
“You need these experiences, you need to play against these types of opponents, and you need to be able to endure tough times. I’m looking forward to what lies ahead and ready to see continued growth from our guys offensively, on the mound, and defensively.”
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