RHS wins Area 14; hosts playoffs Friday

Russellville High took 2 of 3 games from rival West Point last week to clinch first place in the AHSAA Class 5A Area 14 baseball standings.

The Golden Tigers will host the Sardis Lions in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs with the series scheduled to begin Friday.

Russellville traveled to West Point on April 14 and fell to the Warriors 5-4. The Golden Tigers were ahead 4-3 going into the bottom half of the sixth, but West Point scored twice during the frame to take the lead.

Three of the five West Point runs were scored off RHS starting pitcher Ty Engelthaler. RHS committed four errors on defense during the contest.

Russellville had eight hits, including two each by Bryson Cooper, Brayden Entrekin and Malaki Groce. Tristan Ray and Brayden Hatton also had hits. Entrekin and Ray collected doubles. Russellville’s RBIs were by Caleb Hawkins, Hatton and Groce.

The series shifted to RHS on April 16 with the winner of the first game of the day earning first place in the area standings. Russellville used a 12-run fourth inning to get a 12-4 win over the Warriors.

Tripp Cleveland had a double and four RBIs to help lead the Golden Tigers. Hatton and Engelthaler had the most hits for RHS with two each. Jackson Smith had two RBIs while Entrekin, Hatton, Groce and Engelthaler also drove in runs.

Entrekin started the game on the mound and got the win. The lefthander went five innings before Hatton worked the final two frames.

The series ended with an 11-0 Russellville win over West Point. Cleveland hit a home run and led the team with three RBIs. Entrekin added two hits and two RBIs, and Engelthaler had a hit and two RBIs. Ray had a triple for RHS, and Hatton doubled.

Russellville (18-14) got a strong performance on the mound from Cleveland. The right-hander allowed only one hit and collected 13 strikeouts.