RMS wraps winning baseball season
By Brannon King / For the FCT
The Russellville Middle School baseball team recently completed a successful season on the diamond and finished the year with a 25-4 record.
The Golden Tigers proved the baseball program at Russellville City Schools is in good hands for many years to come. At one point during the year, the RMS team had a 16-game winning streak, and the squad – led by head coach Jess Smith and assistant Matthew Duncan – finished out the schedule with a 3-1 mark in the month of April.
April 9, Florence came to Russellville, and the Golden Tigers swept a double header.
In game one of the five-inning contest, RMS scored two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to break a 1-1 tie. Casen Heaps pitched a complete game, allowing only one hit and no earned runs to get the win. He struck out four and walked one. He also scored a run, and Ethan Oliver scored two more to account for the Russellville total.
Oliver walked three times, and RMS got hits from Nathan Brockway, Canyon Pace and Logan White. Pace and Brockway had RBIs, and Brayden Spurgeon also reached base when he was hit by a pitch.
It took 10 innings, but Russellville took game two from the Florence team by a 3-2 score. After five innings of play, the two teams were tied 2-2 before RMS got the win in extra frames.
Russellville pitchers combined for 18 strikeouts of Florence batters. Brayden Heaps got the start and worked the game’s first five innings. He struck out 10 and allowed four hits and two unearned runs and issued no walks.
Logan White came on in relief and pitched four innings with five strikeouts before Samuel Pace got the win with one scoreless inning.
All three outs recorded by Pace were by strikeout, and he allowed one hit and no walks.
Emitt Green, Grayson Thorpe and Oliver had the RBIs for the Tigers. Karson Hyde went 3-for-5, while Brockway, Oliver and Nicholas McSpadden all had hits. Brayden Heaps and Boots McCullogh successfully stole bases.
The Tigers wrapped up the season with a couple of games at Brewer April 12. RMS dropped game one of the day by a 2-0 score to Decatur Heritage Christian School before taking game two 13-1 over Brewer.
Russellville scored four runs in the first and three each over the game’s final three innings to get the five-inning victory.
Four RMS pitchers combined to hold the Patriots to only two hits, with White getting the start and the win. Heaps, Oliver and Pace all pitched an inning of scoreless relief apiece.
Shayden Romans and Tilmon Baker each went 2-for-3 at the plate, and the RMS team combined for 15 stolen bases. Brayden Heaps, Karson Hyde, McSpadden, Jerrin Jackson, Casen Heaps and Green also had RMS hits.
Green’s hit was a triple, and Seth Burns reached base twice on walks.
Andrew Hatton and Dakota Clement also saw action on the field this season for the Tigers.
