The Russellville High School varsity baseball team were defeated twice this week, falling to James Clemens and Haleyville on Monday and Thursday. Coming off an 11-game winning streak, the two losses signal consecutive defeats for the Golden Tigers for the first time since late February.
“It’s a classic case of the game humbling you,” Russellville head coach Jess Smith said. “We try to preach it into our guys. The game rewards those who deserve it and it is just to those who don’t.”
The Golden Tigers’ week started off on Monday with a 7-4 home loss to 7A James Clemens. The loss snapped No. 4 Russellville’s 11-game winning streak, which the Golden Tigers started back on March 14.
A five-run first inning by the Jets put the Golden Tigers in an early hole.
“Our last two losses, I believe, it was a similar situation. Our loss to Lawrence County we got into a hole early and against Cullman, a five spot in the first (inning),” Smith said. “You can’t do that against a really good team like James Clemens.”
James Clemens knocked in two more runs off starter Ty Engelthaler in the fifth before the Russellville pitcher was relieved by Brayden Entrekin. That made it 7-0, Jets.
The Golden Tigers still had more fight left in them, however. The hosts pulled one run back in the sixth when an error scored Brennon Thorpe. Russellville then added three more runs in the next inning on a two-run Brayden Entrekin home run, his first of the season, and an RBI double by Neyland Baker. Though the comeback fell short, Smith said his team’s fight to get back in the game was a positive.
“Typically in the other games where this has happened, giving up five runs in the first inning, that’s led to an implosion,” Smith said. “We were able to salvage some things and fight there at the end.”
“If you look at it, James Clemens had five hits that accounted for those five runs in the first. After that they had one hit. Our two errors contributed to at least three of those runs so if you take those away, it’s a 4-4 game in the bottom of the seventh,” he added. “You’ve got two options and two ways to look at it: You can pout and be in the dumps after losing the game and dropping the streak, or you can look at it as a positive and be thankful that it happened so it brings our guys back to reality, you know? We’ve got to get better.”
Unfortunately for the Golden Tigers, their winning streak was replaced by a losing streak. Russellville traveled to Haleyville on Thursday and fell 4-2. The Lions scratched across solo runs in the second, third, fourth and fifth innings. Russellville’s two runs came in the third and fifth innings thanks to an RBI single by Neyland Baker and a walk that moved Engelthaler in from third base.
Though the Golden Tigers outhit Haleyville with six hits to the Lions’ five, Russellville was unable to string hits together to produce the runs needed to win.
“Every time we got runners into scoring position it felt like we followed it up with a strikeout,” Smith said. “It’s hard to win ball games when you do that.”
The loss, Smith said, will hopefully serve as a wakeup call to his team.
“Haleyville is a good team. They’re a talented, scrappy team and it was going to be a tough game no matter what. It’s even harder when you don’t show up,” Smith said. “I’ve said it before in the past but you need these moments to bring you back to reality.”
Russellville will face Pinson Valley and Shades Valley in a doubleheader on Saturday, April 6.
Commenting on this story has been disabled.
