Golden Tigers rally late for win over Central
By Staff
Mike Self, Franklin County Times
RUSSELLVILLE – Russellville continued its torrid hitting on Tuesday, banging out a season-high 18 hits and rallying for a 13-5 win over Central on day two of the TimesDaily Classic.
Caleb Mitchell and Corey Flanagan each had four hits for the Golden Tigers (17-3 heading into yesterday's game against University High out of Orlando, FL), who trailed 5-2 in the fifth inning before erupting at the plate.
An RBI single by Evan Fergerson and an RBI groundout by Ryan Romans pulled Russellville within one in the bottom of the fifth, and the floodgates opened in the bottom of the sixth as the Golden Tigers sent 14 men to the plate and scored nine runs on eight hits.
"Our guys showed a lot of character by coming back late in the game like that," said RHS coach David Ward, whose team finished strong despite the fact they were playing their ninth game in six days without a day off. "Central is a solid baseball team, and I'm proud of our guys for hanging in there."
Seth Fergerson's two-run single in the sixth gave Russellville its first lead, and Matthew Crawford's RBI single made it 7-5. Patrick Hines drew a bases-loaded walk to force home another run, and Mitchell and Flanagan each delivered two-run doubles as the lead grew to 12-5.
"Corey told me when he got over to third that he's starting to see the ball really well," Ward said.
Flanagan scored on a wild pitch to cap the big inning.
Romans got the win, holding Central scoreless over the final 2 1/3 innings. The freshman allowed just two hits.
Mitchell led off the bottom of the first with a home run, his first of the year, and finished 4-for-5 with three RBIs. Flanagan also went 4-for-5, and Cory Trapp was 3-for-5 with two runs scored.
Mitchell, Flanagan, Trapp and Romans all had bunt hits for Russellville.
"We did a good job of executing that part of our game today," Ward said. "If we don't get those bunts down, we're in trouble."
Seth Fergerson finished 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs. Romans, Hines, Crawford, Evan Fergerson and Jake Ward each added one hit.
Ward started for Russellville and lasted 4 1/3 innings, allowing four runs on four hits. Central broke a 2-2 tie in the top of the fifth when a single by Kevin Patrick plated two runs.
Russellville is scheduled to face Central again today.
