The Russellville High School varsity baseball team advanced to the quarterfinals of the AHSAA 5A playoffs on Saturday, going on the road and knocking out Leeds with a 2-1 series victory. After splitting the first two games on Friday, the Golden Tigers advanced by winning the decisive game three Saturday afternoon.
“My overall theme for this series was toughness,” Russellville head coach Jess Smith said. “Round two, on the road in a hostile environment, it took a lot of guts to go out there and do what we did: win game one and drop game two and then, on short rest, load back up and head back into hostile territory and do what we did.”
“We want to be that gritty group that doesn’t really care what it looks like, it just gets done—and it gets done together. I thought our guys did that,” he added.
The Golden Tigers won game one 12-4 propelled by a big sixth inning. The lead changed three times in the first three innings and Leeds led 4-3 going into the sixth. That’s when Russellville’s offense exploded with seven runs, three of which came from a bases-loaded double by Gunner Sappington, who finished the day 3-for-4 at the plate.
“I think our guys started calling him ‘Playoff Gunner’ after game one,” Smith said. “Gunner Sappington had himself a series both in center field and at the plate for us.”
“He’s struggled with the bat most of our season. He’s been DH-ed for frequently, even though we’ve kept him in center field,” said Smith of Sappington, who finished the series 6-for-10 with five RBI. “The way it fell, we didn’t DH for him in game one and you look up and he’s 3-for-4 with three RBI, you know? And then he does it again in game two and again in game three. I’m really proud and happy for him.”
Shortstop Brandt Cummings, catcher Michael Scofield and starting pitcher Cayden Johns also had multi-RBI performances in game one. On the mound, Johns lasted two and one-third innings before being relieved by Ty Engelthaler, who saw the Golden Tigers through the remainder of the game, allowing just one unearned run.
“Things just weren’t going (Johns') way, and that’s okay. He couldn’t locate his fastball and breaking ball like he normally can, but the thing is that he just kept competing. He competed really hard and gave us a chance to keep it close, even though he wasn’t at his best,” Smith said. “And then Ty Engelthaler came in and just shut them down.”
Engelthaler would play a big part in Russellville’s ultimate success in the series, Smith said, when he gave him the ball in game two, a game the Golden Tigers eventually lost 6-3.
“(Engelthaler) threw 50-plus pitches in game one, and we’re down 3-0 in game two and thinking about how we want to play the situation. We rolled the dice and took a chance and said we’re going back to him, and he went out and competed again,” Smith said. “I don’t know if people realized that gave us an advantage in game three where (Leeds’) hitters didn’t get to see any of our other guys. They didn’t get to see (Brayden) Entrekin. Eli Boutwell, they didn’t get to see him. And Neyland Baker, another guy we have full confidence in, didn’t have to touch the mound.”
Though it was a defeat, Smith saw some bright spots in game two. Brandt Cummings, for one, had a solid outing on the mound, striking out 11 batters. The Golden Tigers, even down six runs heading into the final inning, continued to fight to get back in the game.
“In the seventh, man, we scrapped. We fought like heck, and you could tell our team still believed that we were going to win that game, no matter what,” Smith said. “(Leeds’ pitcher) didn’t really give us a lot of room to win, truthfully. Even in the seventh inning, he was still really good, but our guys just took it to a new level and were able to scratch three runs across.”
“Looking at it, even though we lost, we had confidence coming into game three that when we go into compete mode, anything is possible,” he added. “It certainly gave us momentum going into game three.”
In game three—it’s win or go home—the Golden Tigers jumped out to an early lead. Russellville grabbed three runs in the first with RBI singles from Cummings and Sappington. The visitors then extended their lead to 7-0 in the top of the third thanks to a couple of RBI singles from Boutwell and Daniel Askew.
Askew, who finished the game with three hits, two runs, and two RBI, also had an important impact in the field.
“Daniel Askew went 3-for-4 in game three and made one of the most incredible plays I’ve ever seen at second base,” Smith said. “Game three, the season is on the line, as a senior his career is on the line, and he makes the play. Not only does he make the play but he makes it tremendously.”
On the mound, in, up to that point, the most important game of the season for the Golden Tigers, Smith handed the ball to eighth grader Brayden Entrekin. Entrekin, young in age but mature in the moment, delivered.
“How about that? A 14-year-old eighth grader toeing the rubber in a deciding game three, his first mound appearance in a playoff game of his career, and he’s just tough as nails. It’s unbelievable really,” Smith said. “Put it in the context of, you know, this kid has to be dropped off to go to school and picked up everyday after practice—he isn’t even at the high school with us yet—and he’s called upon to win the most important game of the year to this point.”
Entrekin threw five and two-thirds innings, allowing three runs, one earned, off five hits and he struck out two batters.
“He went right after them with no fear. He didn’t blink, he didn’t get nervous, he didn’t look overwhelmed,” Smith said. “To be so young, the way he carried himself gave even our older guys and our coaches confidence. You looked out there and knew that it didn’t really matter what happened, we were going to win that game, and it started with him.”
The Green Wave scored two runs in the third and another in the fourth, but Russellville was able to add another insurance run in the sixth to make it 8-3. Eli Boutwell came in in relief of Entrekin and shut the door behind him.
Advancing on the road in the second round, the Golden Tigers are now set to host Springville in the quarterfinals. Smith knows from experience Springville, ranked No. 7 in the last Alabama Sports Writers Association poll, will be a tough out.
"Springville is an outstanding team, and I believe, if I’m not mistaken, they have the same or better record than us,” Smith said. “They’re a team that has largely gone under the radar as far as rankings and publicity goes, but if you know anything about high school baseball and 5A baseball in the north, you know Springville, the last decade, is a household name.”
“The last time we played Springville it was a clash of titans-type atmosphere, and I’m expecting the same this series. Two really good teams whose programs expect to win and advance,” he added.
Smith said Russellville’s fan support on the road during the Leeds series played a major role in the Golden Tigers’ ability to advance, and the same will be true when Springville comes to Russellville.
“I can’t tell you the numbers and I can’t provide any facts, but I want to say our fans outnumbered Leeds two-to-one. It has made me kind of emotional thinking about the outpouring of support for this team,” he said. “I really truly mean it when I say I don’t think we could do it without our crowds.”
“It’s a different element when you get to play at home and our stadium with our fans,” Smith added. “One of the things that makes Russellville so special is how committed everyone is to our success. Not just the players, not just the coaches, but our entire community is there for us.”
The quarterfinal round is where Russellville stumbled last season, falling to Sardis. The Golden Tigers intend to clear that hurdle this year, but Smith said he’s excited for the opportunity for another week of baseball.
“To get to host a team like Springville at home in the quarterfinals with a chance to keep playing again, this is everything you work for,” he said. “I’m really, really proud of this group, and I’m ecstatic about getting another week of baseball with them.”
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