The Russellville High School varsity baseball team opened the 2014 season with a doubleheader at New Franklin Saturday, where the Indians lost the first game 3-2 to the Bulldogs, then came back to win the second game 8-3.
"After a tough loss, the kids really bounced back in the second game," Russellville Coach Lucas Branson said. "That shows they are starting to develop a lot of strength."
Zach Voss pitched four innings and recorded one strikeout on the way to the win. Isaac Kirchner pitched two innings of relief.
Ryland Johnson led Russellville hits with a homerun, a single and two RBI. Caleb Harrison had two singles and three RBI, while Seth Kuda recorded two singles and one RBI. Cole Dawson contributed a single and RBI.
Regarding the 3-2 loss to the Bulldogs in the opening game, Branson said, "We had a 2-0 lead going into the bottom of fifth inning. Then we gave up two runs and New Franklin got a hit in the bottom of the seventh to win."
Kuda pitched 4.2 innings and recorded five strikeouts. Johnson pitched 1.2 innings of relief, and recorded three strikeouts. Â
Dawson led Russellville hits with a single and RBI. Harrison and Voss each contributed a single.
"I was really pleased with how our guys competed in both games," Branson said. "We made a couple of mistakes, but we put them behind us and kept playing hard."
Russellville will host Jamestown Thursday, beginning with the varsity game at 5 p.m.