Golden Tigers hold off Athens for area win

By Staff
Mike Self FCT Sports Editor
RUSSELLVILLE - The 2005 Russellville Golden Tigers are a young baseball team, but that doesn't mean they're lacking senior leadership.
Craig Bullion and his fellow upperclassmen make certain of that.
Bullion struck out four batters in two perfect innings of relief and made a spectacular defensive play on the mound to help preserve Russellville's biggest win of the season to date, an 8-6 victory over area rival Athens on Tuesday.
The win keeps the Golden Tigers (6-14, 1-2 Class 5A, Area 16) alive in the hunt for a playoff berth with three area games remaining.
Bullion saved the win for starter Cory Trapp, who allowed three earned runs in five innings.
Trapp is one of four freshmen who start for the Golden Tigers, which is why Bullion takes his role as a leader by example so seriously.
Sensing a crucial win within the Golden Tigers' grasp, Bullion demonstrated the true definition of a leader with his clutch performance over the final two innings.
After Athens trimmed Russellville's lead to 8-6 with three runs in the top of the fifth, Bullion took the mound in the sixth and promptly struck out the side.
With one out in the seventh, Bullion robbed Zach Ooten of a hit by diving toward third base to snare a one-hopper and firing a strike to first from his knees.
Bullion then fanned Martin Ezell for the final out.
The top two teams from the area will qualify for the playoffs, and the Golden Tigers currently occupy third place behind Hartselle and Muscle Shoals.
Russellville will host Muscle Shoals on Monday and Hartselle on April 12. The Golden Tigers will travel to Athens for their final area game on April 19.
Russellville trailed Tuesday's game 3-2 before scoring three runs in the bottom of the third off Athens starter Wes Brown, a 6-foot-6 pitcher/defensive lineman who has signed a football scholarship with the University of Tennessee.
Seth Fergerson led off the third with a double and scored when a bunt hit by Trapp led to a throwing error.
Bullion followed with a single to left, and Chris Swinney bunted for a hit to load the bases.
Ty Cox drove in a run with a groundout, and Caleb Mitchell's infield single brought home another run to make it 5-3.
The Golden Tigers tallied three more runs in the bottom of the fourth.
Torey Baird led off with a single, and courtesy runner Matt Crawford stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch.
A bad-hop RBI single by Trapp made it 6-3, and Bullion reached on an error to put runners at the corners.
Trapp scored on the back end of a double steal, and Bullion came home when Cox reached on an error to make it 8-3.
Athens trimmed the lead to two in the top of the fifth, but Trapp struck out Josh Smith with the tying run at second to end the threat.
Trapp finished with six strikeouts, allowing eight hits and two walks.
Athens scored a pair of runs on four hits in the first, but Trapp fanned Chris Stewart and Smith with the bases loaded to prevent further damage.
Russellville got a run in the bottom of the first when Mitchell singled, stole second and scored on Fergerson's line drive to right.
The Golden Tigers tied the game in the second when Nick Woods reached on an infield hit, moved to second on a groundout, and scored on a single by Corey Flanagan.
Trapp finished with three hits, and Mitchell and Bullion each added two.
Brown took the loss, allowing eight runs, six of them earned, in five innings. He struck out three.
Athens 11 Russellville 8
Craig Bullion had three hits to lead the Golden Tigers in Tuesday's second game, which did not count in the area standings.
Seth Fergerson went 2-for-4 with a home run and a double, and Torey Baird was 2-for-3 with a double for Russellville (6-15).