Lady Golden Tigers earn 5A softball regional spot with runner-up finish in area tournament
The Russellville Lady Golden Tigers earned the runner-up spot in the AHSAA Class 5A Area 14 tournament to advance to the upcoming 5A North Regional.
RHS opened the area tournament that was hosted by Lawrence County High School with a thrilling 6-5 extra-inning win over the West Point Lady Warriors April 26. The Lady Tigers got two runs to take the lead in the eighth and held off WPHS in the bottom of the final inning after the Lady Warriors scored once during the final frame.
Russellville got two RBIs each from Khristyan Huerta and Taitum Bishop. TiceleeGholston and Bri McCulloch added one RBI apiece to the RHS total. Sadie Odom, Gholston and Bishop led the team with two hits each with Bishop collecting a double. Additional Russellville hits were by McCulloch, Huerta, Alexia Groce, Chloe James, Blevyn Sappington and Kaylee Suggs. RHS got a complete game win by Suggs in the pitching circle.
The Lady Golden Tigers then met top-seeded Lawrence County and fell to the Lady Red Devils by a score of 4-0. A Ticelee Gholston triple was Russellville’s only hit during the contest. Taitum Bishop did the pitching for RHS.
Russellville and West Point opened play on April 28 with both schools in a must-win situation during the double-elimination tournament. RHS fell behind 4-0 after two innings but the Lady Tigers answered with two runs in the third, one in the fourth, two in the fifth and one more in the seventh to get the 6-4 victory.
Huerta and Bishop led the squad with two hits each. Also hitting safely were Gholston, McCulloch, Groce, James and Suggs. James and Bishop smacked doubles and Russellville RBIs were by McCulloch, Huerta, Groce, James, Odom and Bishop. Kaylee Suggs went all seven innings in the pitching circle allowing three hits and none of the West Point runs were earned.
Lawrence County took first place in the area tourney with an 11-1 win over Russellville. Gholston had two hits while McCulloch, James and Bishop added one each. Bishop was the only pitcher used by RHS during the contest.
Next for Russellville will be the 5A North Regional which will be held at the Florence Sportsplex.
