Golden Tigers girls drop to 6-5 on season
By Brannon King / For the FCT
The Russellville High School varsity softball team hosted the Austin Black Bears March 13 and then went on the road for a Class 5A, Area 16 matchup against the East Limestone Indians Thursday. RHS fell to Austin 5-2 and then dropped to 6-5 on the season and 1-1 in area play with a 4-1 defeat against the Indians.
The Lady Golden Tigers are working hard and searching for consistency during the early part of the season. Four errors were costly for RHS against the Austin team.
Only one of the five runs allowed by pitcher, Krista Sikes, were earned. She pitched all seven innings of the contest and threw 129 pitches. Sikes struck out seven, walked three and allowed four hits.
Four Russellville batters picked up hits at the plate during the game. Senior Sydney Burcham went two-for-three and stole two bases. She also reached base by being hit by a pitched ball, and she scored a run and drove in one. Alivia Clemmons, AJ Taylor and Makala O’Neal all added singles for Russellville. Lauren Rogers and Taylor reached base via walks, and Sikes scored a run. Meanwhile, Clemmons and Rogers joined Burcham in the stolen base column.
In the game at East Limestone, the Indians (8-5, 2-0) took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the second inning and added two more insurance runs in the sixth frame. East outhit the Lady Golden Tigers by a 7-4 tally, and the RHS defense committed three errors.
Again, four Golden Tigers had base-hits for the second consecutive game. This time, Karlie Moore joined Burcham, Clemmons and Sikes as players who hit safely. The hits by Burcham and Clemmons were doubles, and Burcham added a stolen base and a run scored. Autumn Logan had the lone RBI for RHS, and Lauren Rogers tried to help the cause with a walk.
Senior Emma Whitfield pitched the game for Russellville. She allowed four runs with two of them being earned. There were seven East Limestone hits, three Indians walked and two struck out. Whitfield threw 111 pitches during the game.
Next up for Russellville includes another area matchup with Brooks after a scheduled game at Central-Florence was rained out on Monday. The Lady Golden Tigers have had success against Brooks so far this season by winning on the road in an area game and by also defeating the Lady Lions at RHS as part of the Spring Frenzy Tournament in a non-area game.
