Indians pocket win against Crocker

The Russellville High School varsity baseball team hosted Crocker Sept. 17, where the Indians came away with a 9-1 win.

Isaac Kirchner recorded the win with six strikeouts. This was his first varsity start.

Clayton Thompson led Russellville hits with a two-run homer. Tanner Morrow and Caleb Harrison each had two hits and two RBI, while Zach Voss had three hits.

Russellville played at Eugene Thursday, where the varsity won 14-4. Clayton Meyer recorded the win.

Chase Smith led Russellville hits with a double, a single and three RBI. Kaleb Libbert followed with three singles and two RBI, while Harrison had two singles and two RBI. Morrow chipped in with two singles and one RBI.

"The score doesn't really indicate how this game was," Russellville Coach Lucas Branson said. "It was a pretty tight rivalry game as you would expect, but our kids were able to make some late adjustments offensively, to break open this game. Clayton Meyer pitched well and kept us in the game until we were able to get some big hits in the sixth and seventh innings."

Russellville's JV defeated Eugene 9-4.

The Indians played Conway at Camdenton Sept. 18, where Russellville's varsity won 5-0. Chandler Wolf recorded the win with three strikeouts. Meyer led hits with two singles and two RBI.

"Clayton had the game-winning hit in the bottom of the seventh," Branson said. "This was a big win for our baseball program. For us to get the opportunity to get to play someone out of our area that has been a perrenial power in southwest Missouri, then come from behind to get the win really shows what kind of team we are and are capable of being. These kids don't quit and they play until the end because they know they always have a chance and someone will come up with the big hit when we need it."

Russellville's JV defeated Conway 4-1 in four innings. Alex Thompson recorded the win with nine strikeouts.

The Indians will conclude the season with the Iberia Tournament (Sept. 25-29).

Russellville's varsity is 14-1 thus far, and the JV 7-2.

"Our main goal in the fall is to get kids more playing time and to put the kids in situtations to get us ready for our spring season," Branson said. "The kids really have bought into the philosophy of playing together because we have 10-11 varsity players that contribute almost every game. We have a lot of experience because many of these kids have played since they were freshmen and have gone through the growing pains to become very good varsity baseball players. Since the varsity players push each other, it has trickeled down to the JV level as well and they are playing well, which gives us a lot of overall depth in our program. We have had a very good fall but know that there is still a lot of work to be done in the off-season to prepare us for a long playoff run in the spring."