Russellville hitting road to battle East Limestone

John Batchelor kept the Golden Tigers’ playoff hopes alive with a three-run homer last week. | Scot Beard/FCT

Russellville got a taste of the playoffs a week early as the Golden Tigers had to sweep Muscle Shoals to remain in the hunt for the postseason.

Russellville completed the sweep, rallying from a multi-run deficit in both games.

Now the playoffs really begin for the Golden Tigers with a trip to Class 5A, Area 16 champion East Limestone.

The Indians have a 24-7 record and three strong pitchers in Cade Medley, Nathan Glaze and Brett Mansfield.

Medley, who recently signed with Wallace State, is also one of East Limestone’s best hitters with a couple of grad slams and several homers this season.

Last week Russellville got strong pitching from Ryan Bowling and Nathan Vincent in the sweep of Muscle Shoals while Jake Ward is also a threat on the mound, though he struggled against the Trojans.

The Golden Tigers have also gotten quite a bit of pop from the batting lineup, especially in the bottom of the order. Matthew Duncan drove in several runs at Muscle Shoals while Casey Herring and Mitch Mitchell got on base consistently in the series.

The first round begins with a doubleheader at 4:30 p.m. If needed, the third game of the best-of-three series will be at 2 p.m. Saturday.