Local baseball roundup, March 23-28: County teams faceoff, Russellville sweeps Priceville in first area series
Here’s a look at the baseball action from teams around Franklin County:
Monday, March 23
Lindsay Lane 24, Belgreen 8
Red Bay 14, Brooks 2
Red Bay trounced Class 4A Brooks to start the week, run-ruling the hosting Lions in six innings. The Tigers, propelled by six-run innings in the third and fourth, were led by Ayden Pruitt both at the plate and on the mound. Pruitt, from his place in the six-hole, went 2-for-3 with four RBIs and two runs; toeing the rubber, Pruitt threw the entire game and earned the win, allowing two unearned runs off two hits. RBHS first baseman Riley Carpenter and left fielder Davo Colburn drove in two runs each and third baseman Carson McGee came around to score four times.
Waterloo 10, Tharptown 3
Tremont 18, Vina 0
Tuesday, March 24
Russellville 1, Priceville 0
A pitching duel between Russellville starter Ty Engelthaler and Priceville’s Jake Hamilton came down to the wire in both teams’ opening area series. After six and a half scoreless innings, the Golden Tigers drew two walks and got their first hit of the game in the bottom half of the seventh before second baseman Houston Askew, with the bases loaded, singled to left field to score Darron Jones and walk it off. Engelthaler, who pitched a complete game shutout, allowed four hits and struck out eight batters in his win.
Belgreen 11, Athens Bible 9
After falling behind 8-2 going into the bottom half of the sixth inning, Belgreen exploded for nine runs to come from behind and topple Athens Bible School by two runs. A passed ball allowed BHS to get on the board first in the bottom of the first, but Athens Bible responded with seven unanswered runs in the third and fourth innings. An Easton Mitchell RBI single pulled BHS back within five runs in the bottom of the fifth. Then, in the sixth, the Bulldogs took advantage of two ABS errors, drew four walks, and saw RBI singles from Rush Berryman and Colton Ashton that ultimately pushed nine rushes across. The hosts allowed one more run in the top of the seventh but were able to hold on to their newfound lead in the end. Mitchell, who went 2-for-4 at the dish, finished with a team-high three RBIs for BHS. On the mound, Ashton earned the win after coming into the relieve the starter Berryman after four innings.
Phil Campbell 11, Tharptown 0
Phil Campbell outhit Tharptown 10-1 while putting up crooked numbers in the second and fourth innings to run-rule the home team Wildcats in five innings. Reed Jackson and Shooter Motes led PCHS with two hits apiece and Motes had a game-high two RBIs. Tharptown’s lone hit of the game came from Jackson Knighten in the bottom of the fifth inning. On the mound, the Bobcats’ Eli Tyra tossed all five innings, striking out 11 batters in the win. Tharptown’s Randy Hollimon received the loss after his complete game effort.
Thursday, March 26
Red Bay 3, Phil Campbell 1
Red Bay pushed solo runs across in the first, third, and sixth innings to slip past rival Phil Campbell midweek. The Tigers opened the scoring on a sac fly by Jeremiah Thorne that scored Landyn Lewey in the bottom of the first inning, but the Bobcats responded and tied the game up 1-1 in the top of the third on a RBI groundout by Jack Owens. In the bottom half of the inning, RBHS retook the lead on another sacrifice fly—this one by Carson McGee—that scored Thorne. The Tigers added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth inning via an RBI double from Davo Colburn. Phil Campbell’s Isaac Duboise, who struck out six batters in his six-inning outing, was stuck with the loss. McGee earned the win for RBHS after allowing one unearned run through three and two-thirds innings; Thorne came on in relief for the Tigers, allowing just one hit through three and a third innings.
Russellville 8, Priceville 4
The Golden Tigers picked up the series sweep over Priceville, going on the road to beat the Bulldogs by four runs. After falling behind 1-0 after one inning, Russellville responded with five unanswered runs to take a 5-1 lead heading into the home half of the fourth. A Tripp Cleveland RBI single tied the game up 1-1 in the top of the second, a fielder’s choice and an RBI single by Caleb Hawkins scored two runs for RHS in the third, and a sac fly and RBI groundout tacked on another two runs in the fourth. Priceville added solo run in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings, but it wasn’t enough to cut all the way into Russellville’s lead. The Golden Tigers finished the hosts off with two more insurance runs in the seventh thanks to an RBI double by Brayden Entrekin and an RBI groundout from catcher Tristan Ray. Ray would finish the game with a team-high three RBIs. Entrekin, who started on the mound for RHS, received the win. He allowed two earned runs off five hits through four innings before being relieved by Cleveland, who finished out the game.
Tharptown 3, Vina 2
Down two runs to Vina with three outs left, Tharptown earned its fourth win of the season after walking it off in the seventh inning. The visiting Red Devils scored solo runs in the fourth and sixth innings on an RBI walk and then an RBI single by Zach Sparks to take a 2-0 advantage. But the Wildcats, who were outhit 5-4 in the game, were able to respond with their backs against the wall. A Vina error in the bottom of the seventh allowed THS to end the shutout before a VHS wild pitch scored Christopher Fretwell from third to tie the game up 2-2. The Wildcats literally walked off a few plate appearances later when Drake Massey drew a bases loaded walk that scored Owen Gardner. Sparks, who pitched all seven innings for Vina, was stuck with the loss. Massey and Jackson Knighten shared the pitching duties for Tharptown, the starter Massey tossing three and two-thirds innings before being relieved by Knighten who finished out the game and was credited with the win.
Friday, March 27
Belgreen 6, Danville 4
Belgreen 11, Shoals Christian 1
The Bulldogs improved to 12-6 overall with its five-inning blowout win over the Flame. Down 1-0 after the top of the first inning, Belgreen responded with a go-ahead, two-run bottom half. A two-run single by Easton Mitchell gave BHS the 2-1 lead. Three innings later, in the fourth, the Bulldogs created a lot more separation by plating eight more runs. The Bulldogs drew five straight walks to start the inning and then were hit by pitches back-to-back to make it 6-1. A couple outs later, another walk and another HBP pushed two more runs across before a Colton Ashton single scored Ty Hamilton to make it 9-1. One final RBI walk scored Zed Wilson from third to make it 10-1. The Bulldogs, in the bottom of the fifth, secured the walk-off, run-rule win after an error by the Flame catcher scored Parker Morgan from third base. Rush Berryman threw all five innings for BHS, receiving the win after allowing just one unearned run off one hit while striking out seven batters.
Phil Campbell 12, Covenant Christian 1
Phil Campbell 11, Covenant Christian 1
Waterloo 17, Tharptown 5
Saturday, March 28
Briarwood 10, Russellville 0