Russellville rolls past Jasper 18-1 to open area series

The Russellville High School varsity baseball team (10-7) ran rampant in game one of its three game area series against Jasper on Tuesday evening, run-ruling the Vikings 18-1 in five innings.

The Golden Tigers, who hosted the series opener, scored multiple runs in every inning, including a massive nine-spot in the fourth. Russellville’s 18 runs came off 10 hits, but a baker’s dozen errors committed by the Vikings was also a major contributor to the final result: 15 of Russellville’s 18 runs were unearned.

“(Jasper’s) best player went down last weekend with a season-ending injury. He was leading them in every offensive category, he was their shortstop, and their ace pitcher on the mound, so I think that was a big hit to those guys,” Russellville head coach Jess Smith said. “I think they’re still trying to navigate how to play without him out there because he’s so monumental to that team. I think that was a major contributing factor to the outcome of that game.”

“That being said, for us, it was kind of just keep doing what we were doing,” Smith added. “I was proud of our offensive execution. (Cayden) Johns gave us another great performance on the mound, and we only had one real blunder defensively, so the things I feel like…the things we’ve needed to address to get better we did a good job of.”

Senior Cayden Johns got the start for the Golden Tigers and picked up where his fellow pitchers left off in the last game, a 6-1 win over Lawrence County. Johns shut down the opposing batters, allowing just one hit through four shutout innings of work. Johns wasn’t fanning batters at a high clip, finishing with four Ks, but he kept his pitches in the strike zone and let his defense go to work.

“I think we had a few more strikeouts than we did against Lawrence County, but (Johns) really sold out with that same mentality that he had in his last time out,” Smith said. “He was just attacking the zone and I think he did a great job of that.”

Offensively, every Russellville starter got in on the scoring action with a run or an RBI or both. Johns gave himself some cushion on the mound with a team-high three-RBI day at the plate, while catcher Michael Scofield and designated hitter Neyland Baker both finished with two RBI. Shortstop Brandt Cummings came across to score a team-high three runs.

The lopsided scoreline allowed the Golden Tigers to substitute in a lot of players, giving them valuable reps and maybe an occasion to remember, too.

“It’s awesome whenever you get a chance to put some younger guys in in an area game and let them get that experience,” Smith said. “We’ve got guys that may not be in the starting lineup every day that are certainly capable of answering the call whenever they’re put into a situation.”

“Brandon Thorpe, who had a season-ending injury his sophomore year, got to get his first at-bat in a varsity game and hit a double. Those are things that are special moments, as coaches, when you get to see a kid succeed like that,” Smith added.

Going into the Thursday doubleheader at Jasper, the Golden Tigers are hoping to avoid a scenario similar to their last area series when Russellville won the opening game in convincing fashion but took a beating in game two, setting up a high-pressure, pivotal rubber match. Smith said it will be important for his team to remember the lessons of the last series and to stay mentally locked in.

“(Jasper) Coach (Patrick) Ware is one of the legends in the state of Alabama as far as high school coaches go. He’s been doing it a long time, and I know that (Jasper) will be different going into Thursday,” Smith said. 

“Focus and attention to detail in Monday’s practice was a huge factor in our success (Tuesday), and that’s the challenge now. What kind of mentality are we going to bring to (Wednesday’s) practice? Are we going to hit the snooze button and go in coast mode? Or are we going to work to get better today so we don’t have an experience like we did last Thursday, where we drop a game and that puts us in a must-win situation? I believe it all starts with the preparation today.”

Russellville will travel to Jasper for games two and three of the series on March 21. First pitch for the first game of the doubleheader is scheduled for 4:30 P.M.