Russellville opens area play with sweep

By Staff
Mike Self
Franklin County Times
RUSSELLVILLE – A thrilling 9-8 win over Decatur on Monday took its toll on Russellville head coach David Ward, but a loss would have done even more damage to the Golden Tigers' playoff hopes.
"I think I'm about to have a heart attack," Ward said after his team squandered a 5-0 lead and then scored the game-winning run on a base hit by Jake Ward in the bottom of the seventh to survive their Class 5A, Area 16 opener. "Our kids fought back, and that's what they had to do. I would have been proud of them win or lose today. We made a few mistakes in the field, but we got some big hits when we needed them."
The Golden Tigers finished off a sweep of the Red Raiders with a 15-5 win at Decatur on Tuesday, getting a three-run homer and five RBIs from Evan Fergerson.
Russellville (26-5, 2-0 area) appeared to be on its way to an easy win on Monday after scoring four runs in the bottom of the second to give ace pitcher Preston Beasley a five-run cushion. But after retiring all six men he faced through the first two innings, Beasley ran into trouble.
The Golden Tigers made two errors behind him in the top of the third as Decatur (8-14, 0-1) pushed across a pair of runs. The wheels came off in the top of the fourth as Russellville made two more errors and Beasley hit three batters, helping the Red Raiders tie the game 5-5.
John Frost then greeted reliever Cory Trapp with a two-run single to give Decatur a 7-5 lead.
Senior third baseman Seth Fergerson helped jumpstart Russellville's comeback in the bottom of the fifth, blasting a 2-0 pitch from Blaine Ingram over the scoreboard in right-center field for his eighth home run of the season.
"Normally with a 2-0 count and being down two runs that late in the game, I would give a guy the take sign," Ward said. "But I turned around to the guys in the dugout right before the pitch and said, 'I'm not giving it to him.'"
Fergerson's solo shot pulled Russellville within a run and chased Ingram from the game. The Golden Tigers quickly loaded the bases with no outs against reliever Michael Schuster, but Decatur caught a huge break when Patrick Hines' hard-hit line drive went right to first baseman Tyler Spivey for an unassisted double play.
Schuster then retired Caleb Mitchell on a groundout to escape the jam and preserve the one-run lead.
"We were so close last year to making the playoffs, but we just didn't catch any breaks," Ward said. "When we hit that shot to the right side that turned into a double play, I started having flashbacks to last year when the same thing happened to us in another area game."
This time, however, the Golden Tigers would not be denied. A double by Corey Flanagan, a hit batsman and a walk loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the sixth for junior catcher Torey Baird.
"Torey came over to me right before that at bat and said, 'What do you think?'" Ward said. "I told him there's not anybody I'd rather have up there in that situation."
Baird delivered in the clutch, lining a curveball from Schuster into center field for a two-run single to put Russellville on top 8-7.
Decatur refused to go quietly, scoring another unearned run in the top of the seventh to tie the game.
Hines was hit by a pitch leading off the bottom of the inning and then stole second. One out later, Jake Ward lifted a towering fly ball to right field that carried nearly all the way to the fence and dropped in on the warning track. Hines scored easily from second to give Russellville the win.
Trapp (6-0) earned the win in relief, allowing just two hits while striking out five in 3 1/3 innings.
"I can't say enough about the job Cory did on the mound," Ward said.
Jake Ward finished with two hits, including a triple in the bottom of the first. He scored on Flanagan's sacrifice fly to make it 1-0.
Flanagan also had two hits, including an RBI double that capped Russellville's four-run second inning.
Baird added two hits, and Hines had a two-run single.