Key hit eludes Russellville

By Staff
Mike Self FCT Sports Editor
RUSSELLVILLE - It was painfully fitting that Russellville's game against Muscle Shoals on Monday ended with two Golden Tigers stranded on the bases.
It was a recurring theme all afternoon.
The Golden Tigers managed just three hits in 16 at bats with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base as the visiting Trojans escaped with an 8-5 win.
The loss dropped Russellville (8-17 overall) to 1-3 in Class 5A, Area 16. The Golden Tigers' two remaining area games are on April 12 versus Hartselle and April 19 at Athens. They will need to win both to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.
The Golden Tigers matched Muscle Shoals with 10 hits on Monday, but the Trojans strung together six straight hits to open the fourth inning as they scored five runs to build a 6-1 lead.
A two-run double by Nick Woods trimmed the deficit to 6-3, but the Golden Tigers would get no closer as they stranded two runners in each of the last three innings.
Despite the frustrating defeat, the vast improvement shown by the Golden Tigers since their 9-0 loss to Muscle Shoals in early March was not lost on Kerby.
In that shutout loss on March 8 at Gattman Park, Russellville managed just two hits against Joel Sessions in a complete game.
The Golden Tigers fared much better against the Trojan ace on Monday, tagging him for five runs on nine hits and forcing him to throw 127 pitches.
Sessions did earn the win on Monday, finishing with seven strikeouts and four walks in six-plus innings. He left after allowing a leadoff single to Seth Fergerson and a walk to Cory Trapp to start the bottom of the seventh.
Both runners later scored on an infield single by Ty Cox to trim the lead to 8-5, but reliever Justin Fleming struck out Caleb Mitchell with two runners on to earn the save.
Cox and Fergerson both finished 3-for-4, and Corey Flanagan went 2-for-3 with a walk.
Trapp took the loss, despite having only one bad inning out of six. The freshman righthander allowed five runs on six hits in the fifth inning, holding the Trojans to one run on two hits in his other five innings of work.
Muscle Shoals scored a pair of insurance runs off Craig Bullion in the top of the seventh.
Bullion's best work of the day with his arm came from right field in the top of the sixth inning.
The Trojans had runners at second and third with one out when David Bailey smashed a line drive to right. Bullion made the catch and then held the ball, trotting in towards the infield as Rusty Todd tagged up and danced away from third.
Todd decided to test Bullion's arm, and the Russellville senior fired a perfect throw on the fly to catcher Torey Baird to nail the runner for the final out of the inning.
Muscle Shoals got a run in the first when Seth Knight walked and eventually scored on a wild pitch.
Russellville scored its first run in similar fashion in the third when Mitchell reached on an error, stole second and later scored on a wild pitch to tie the game.
The Trojans opened the fourth with six consecutive hits, including an RBI single by Todd, a two-run single by Corey Beams and a two-run double by Bailey.
Russellville got two of those runs back in the bottom of the inning. Trapp led off with a double, and Chris Swinney reached on a fielder's choice. Both runners scored when Woods' high fly ball dropped in down the left field line for a double.
After a walk to Mitchell, Flanagan singled to left, but Woods was thrown out at the plate to end the inning.
Russellville was scheduled to host Muscle Shoals again on Tuesday in a non-area game. The Golden Tigers will travel to face Brooks on Thursday at 4 p.m.
In other recent local action:
Russellville 7 Madison County 6, eight innings
Ty Cox snapped a 6-6 tie with a solo homer in the top of the eighth inning in Saturday's game at Sheffied.
Caleb Mitchell was 3-for-3 with a run and an RBI, and Matt Humphries went 2-for-4 with two RBIs.
Cox scored a pair of runs, and Josh James, Corey Flanagan and Matt Crawford each had one hit.
Craig Bullion earned the win, striking out two and allowing one hit in two scoreless innings of relief.
Sheffield 5 Russellville 1
DeMario Flynn struck out seven and held the Golden Tigers to four hits in a complete game on Saturday.
Trey Hooper took the loss for Russellville, allowing four hits and striking out five in a complete game.
Seth Fergerson led the Golden Tigers with two hits, and Corey Flanagan and Nick Woods each added one. Chris Swinney scored Russellville's lone run.