Seeing blue

Russellville Golden Tigers dominate their playoff run, bring home state 

Twice last week the Russellville Golden Tigers brought home a state championship trophy. The baseball team won in convincing fashion on their way to defeating Helena in the 5A baseball state championship series after an equally impressive finish by the boys’ golf team to bring home the blue map as well. Two state titles in one week after nearly 33 years without bringing one home—a special feat no one involved will soon forget.

Going 10-0 in the 2015 playoffs is perhaps the most impressive part of Russellville’s run to the championship. They swept all five series they appeared in—never having to use their third starting pitcher in the rotation.

But their season didn’t always look as though a state championship was viable or that they would even be strong contenders in the post season.

An 0-3 start to the season coupled with the rainy season saw Russellville coming out of the blocks sluggish and maybe unprepared. It was tough for any team in the area to really get out and get any solid practice time in on the field never mind getting games in.

“We are blessed to have the facilities that we do have here at Russellville,” Heaps said. “A lot of schools don’t have the kinds of facilities that we do and we’re lucky for that.”

Senior pitcher Jacob Green said being able to come in and get some work done even during rainouts is an advantage.

“Our coaches do a great job of communicating with us and letting us know how things are going to pan out,” Green said. “If it’s your day to pitch but things get rained out then they let you know ahead of time so you can plan for what to do or we are able to come in and throw and maybe simulate a game.”

And Coach Heaps and the RHS pitching staff told me at the end of March that their season was a work in progress.

“The schedule that I had planned before the season began was a little bit different than the one we’ve actually been able to play,” Heaps said. “The weather has really mixed us up some, but we’ve been able to get enough games in.

“I think if we had played all the teams I had scheduled our record would look a little bit different,” Heaps said. “We’d be a little bit more under the radar than we are right now heading into the end of the season.”

Heaps told me before their matchup with 5A foe Alexandria that a game with them earlier in the season was a turning point for his team.

“We had a game with them back in March where we came from behind and ended up beating them and that is where I really saw what our team could do,” Heaps said. “I saw all of the pieces come together in that game and going forward I knew we could be a good team.”

And if you’re going to make a run through the playoffs with hopes of becoming the state champions, it never hurts to have a solid if not dominant pitching staff.

“This pitching staff this year is as good as I have seen in my years coaching,” Heaps said. “These guys are as solid of a group of guys as you could ask for and when they get out there and perform like they know they can, then they always give us a great chance to win.”

And that they did.

Behind starters Cody Greenhill and Jacob Green the Golden Tigers didn’t lose a single playoff game on their way to securing the blue map.

Golden Tigers boys golf stay consistent, take state championship

The Russellville Golden Tigers boys golf team started the season dodging puddles and water-logged courses, but last week they started something else.

When the day ended on May 12 the RHS boys golf team was state champions and they had started a week of winning ways that will likely not be forgotten any time soon for residents for the team or their friends and families.

First year coach Ryan Brewer found a way early in the season to keep his guys working on their game even when it was difficult to find a dry place to do so.

“Everybody from Birmingham north had bad weather early in the season,” Brewer said. “I don’t know, it might have been south of Birmingham, too. I just know that the weather was pretty bad for most of the early part of the season.

“There were some days that we couldn’t do anything,” Brewer said. “We would get out there and only be able to work on putting because it was too wet around the greens to chip or do anything else. Either it was too wet or it was frozen. That was a difficult early part of a season for sure.”

But they continued working, spending countless afternoons at their home course—Twin Pines—and working hard on being consistent.

That consistency helped Russellville finish the tournament in Mobile, Ala. with a total score of 305, which was nine shots better than runners-up, St. Paul’s.

That win by nine strokes came after they started the final round one shot behind St. Paul’s who led after the first day on Magnolia Grove.

“I felt good about our chances going into the finals,” Brewer said. “We had seen Guntersville in sub-state and we thought like we could play well and beat them. Well, after the first day we had a big lead on them but we were still one shot off the leaders and that put us in great position.”

With two state championships coming back to Russellville after one terrific week of high school athletics, first-year Athletic Director and Head Football Coach Mark Heaton said he was impressed.

“It’s an honor to be here and to be a part of something like this,” Heaton said. “Some coaches coach their entire careers and some athletic directors stick with programs their entire careers and never get to witness one state title, so this past couple of weeks has been special.

“We have a great community and a great school with great students and I am very happy for all of them to be able to witness something like this,” Heaton said. “God has been so good to us and we’ve been through a lot the last year or so. I’m glad these coaches and students were able to experience this.”