RHS girls record mixed week on diamond
By Brannon King for the FCT
Russellville 10, Haleyville 0
Russellville scored in every inning to defeat the Haleyville Lions in a five-inning win at home March 21.
Kayla Cochran, Kalli Beth Daniel, AJ Taylor and Alivia Clemmons all had two hits each for RHS. Karlie Moore, Madison Murray, Autumn Logan and Kourtney Joyner also had hits for Russellville in the win. Murray and Cochran had doubles, and Cochran scored three runs while Moore drove in two.
“We actually came out and did what we worked on all season long,” Russellville head coach Kathryn Montgomery said. “We had a good and really tough practice yesterday. We kind of turned up the heat on them a little bit, and they came out and performed really well today.”
RHS saw some new faces to the varsity squad in key positions to start the game, as Montgomery changed up the lineup. Krista Sikes got the start in the circle as pitcher, while Logan started at third base and Taylor played shortstop, instead of her usual second base position. Clemmons played left field, and Murray was behind the plate – their normal spots – to round out the group of ninth graders starting on the varsity for Russellville.
A key to the game for Russellville was playing successful small-ball. “I think something that really got us started was that we got our bunts down, and that’s something that we worked hard on yesterday because that’s an integral part of the game,” Montgomery said.
Sikes worked two innings as pitcher and gave up four hits before being relieved by Megan Warhurst; later, Emma Whitfield came on to pitch the final inning.
Russellville 8, East Limestone 7
The Lady Golden Tigers traveled to East Limestone and picked up a key area win over the Indians March 23. With the win, RHS improved to 1-1 in Class 5A, Area 16 regular-season play so far this season.
Russellville outhit East Limestone 12-9, and a four-run fourth inning was the big frame for scoring for the Golden Tigers. Cochran had a home run, and Daniel went 3-5 at the plate to lead RHS. Daniel had three stolen bases, scored two runs and drove in one base-runner. Moore and Taylor had two hits apiece for Russellville while Cochran, Murray, Kourtney Joyner, Sikes and Whitfield all had one hit each. Moore had three RBIs, while Cochran had two runs batted in.
Sikes, Warhurst and Whitfield were the trio of pitchers used in the game for Russellville to gain the win.
Gordo 5, Russellville 0
The Bill Collins Classic at Carbon Hill got underway for Russellville March 24 with a game against the Gordo Greenwave. Gordo picked up one run in the fourth inning and four in the sixth, which ended up being the last inning of the game. Russellville was held to only three hits, and RHS committed four errors in the contest.
Madison Lamon, Clemmons and Whitfield had the Russellville hits. The hits by Lamon and Clemmons were doubles. Warhurst pitched all six innings for the Golden Tigers.
Russellville 5, Cold Springs 0
Emma Whitfield shut out the Cold Springs Eagles for a win in the second game of the day for RHS in Carbon Hill. She allowed only three hits and struck out four Eagles. Daniel and Murray both went 2-3 with an RBI for RHS. Murray had a triple, while Daniel had a double. Whitfield and Taylor also added one hit each.
Carbon Hill 4, Russellville 1
The host Bulldogs of Carbon Hill got the win over RHS to round out the first night of play in the Bill Collins Classic. Russellville had nine hits in the game to seven for Carbon Hill. Daniel and Clemmons had two hits apiece for RHS, along with one each from Cochran, Taylor, Lamon, Joyner and Murray. Lamon’s hit was a double. Clemmons drove in Cochran for the lone RHS run.
Russellville 9, Curry 7
Bracket play got underway for RHS March 25 at Carbon Hill with a good win for the Lady Golden Tigers.
Joyner went 3-3, scored two runs and drove in one for Russellville. Taylor also had three hits and three RBIs for RHS, while Sikes and Logan had two hits each. Daniel, Clemmons and Murray each hit one. Logan scored three times for Russellville.
Emma Whitfield pitched seven innings for RHS and gave up two earned runs on nine Yellow Jacket hits to get the win.
Gordo 6, Russellville 4
The Bill Collins Classic came to a close as the Greenwave once again dealt the Russellville team a loss in Carbon Hill. RHS (11-11) outhit Gordo 9-6 but couldn’t overcome an early 4-3 GHS advantage after two innings of play. Hits from Russellville batters came from Joyner (2), Murray (2), Cochran (2), Daniel (1), Clemmons (1) and Moore (1). Joyner had two doubles while Daniel had a triple.
