As Russellville moves to 22-8 on the year, head coach John Smith was really pleased with his Lady Golden Tigers this past weekend at the Bob Jones Tournament. “These girls are really playing well right now,” Smith said. “We need to be playing this well at Area Tournament time, but that’s a ways off now. We can experience many things between now and then.”
The Lady Golden Tigers started off great, winning their first three games of the Bob Jones Tournament, beating Arab (shutout), Marshall County and Walker County.
Russellville 2, Arab 0
The girls opened up play last Friday with a 2-0 win over Arab. Senior pitcher Jakari Suggs pitched five innings, earning herself a shutout, and senior Megan Brockway broke up a scoreless tie with her fourth home run of the season in the bottom of the fourth.
Russellville tacked on another run in the sixth when Kalli Beth Daniel singled, moved to second on a hit by Brockway, stole third and then scored on an infield single by Suggs to make it 2-0.
Suggs held Arab to just three hits in five innings, striking out two and walking none. Emma Whitfield pitched two hitless innings in relief.
Brockway finished 2-for-3, and Daniel was 1-for-3. Whitfield, Kayla Cochran and Brooke Borden also had one hit apiece.
Russellville 10, Marshall County  2
In their second game, Suggs hit a three-run homer, and Jess Guzman added a pair of two-run singles as Russellville rolled to a big 10-2 rout of Marshall County.
The Lady Golden Tigers jumped in front early with four runs in the top of the first. Daniel drove in the first run with an RBI single, and Brockway followed with a hit. Suggs followed with her second home run of the year, a three-run shot to center to make it 4-0.
Marshall County got on the board with a run in the bottom of the third, but Russellville came right back with three in the top of the fourth on Guzman’s two-run single and Daniel’s RBI groundout.
Guzman added another two-run single in a three-run fifth.
Suggs earned the win, allowing one earned run on five hits in four innings. She struck out three and walked three.
Guzman went 3-for-4 with a double and four RBIs. Brockway was 2-for-2, and Morgan George went 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Borden was 1-for-3 with a run and a steal, and Karlie Moore scored twice and drove in a run.
Russellville 5, Walker 1
The Lady Golden Tigers won their third straight game of the Bob Jones Tournament with a 5-1 win over Walker last Saturday.
Guzman went 3-for-4, breaking up a scoreless tie with a solo homer (her fifth of the season) in the top of the third. Brockway added an RBI double later in the inning, and Suggs’ RBI groundout made it 3-0.
Walker scored its only run in the bottom of the third, but Russellville got that run back when Cochran led off the fourth with her first homer of the year, a shot to center that made it 4-1. Cochran would later single in the sixth and score on an error to provide the final margin.
Brockway finished 2-for-4, and Borden also had two hits. Cochran was 2-for-4 and scored twice, and Moore added a single.
Russellville 5, Sparkman 14
Later on Saturday, Russellville’s three-game win streak ended with the loss to Sparkman.
The Lady Senators scored five runs in the bottom of the first and six more in the second to lead 11-0 before Russellville rallied for five runs in the third. That would be all the scoring for the Lady Golden Tigers, who finished with six hits.
Guzman was 2-for-2 with a run, and Daniel went 1-for-2 with a double and two RBIs. George was 1-for-2 with a triple and an RBI, and Brockway and Whitfield each had a hit and drove in a run.
“Right now we are reaping the benefits of their hard work and commitment. Once again our pitchers are pitching well, our defense is solid, and we are getting timely hits,” Smith said.