The Russellville Indians finished in third place at the AA Baseball Tournament, Sept. 14-15.
The Indians defeated the Weaubleau Tigers in the first round 15-0 on Sept. 14. The Indians lost in the second round to the St. Elizabeth Hornets, 6-5, Sept. 15. Then, Russellville defeated the Eugene Eagles 10-2 in the third-place game Sept. 15.
In the first round win against Weaubleau, the Indians scored five runs in the second inning and 10 runs in the third. They scored 15 runs on eight hits and had no errors, while Weaubleau had zero runs on one hit and five errors. Dawson Koch led the team with two hits and three RBI. Matt Miller and Mason Stewart each had two RBI in the win. Riley Marcum pitched three innings and struck out four batters for Russellville.
In their second-round loss to St. Elizabeth, the Indians led 2-1 after three innings, but the Hornets scored a run in the fourth inning to tie the game at 2-2. St. Elizabeth added three runs in the fifth inning to make it 2-5 and added one more run in the sixth inning. The Indians fell just short in their comeback attempt, as they scored one run in the sixth inning and two runs in the seventh. The Indians scored five runs on eight hits and had one error. The Hornets scored six runs on nine hits and had no errors.
Nick Thompson led the Indians with three hits and three RBI. Matt Miller led the team with two walks. Braden Hickey pitched 4 1/3 innings for the Indians and struck out three batters. Miller pitcher 1 2/3 innings and struck out three batters, as well.
In the third-place game, Russellville was in control early on, as it took a 1-0 lead after the first inning and then scored five runs in the second inning to make it 6-0.
Head coach Lucas Branson said the team had good discipline in that second inning.
"We put some good swings on pitches in locations that our kids hit well," Branson said.
Eugene had a few scoring chances in the third, fourth and fifth innings, but Russellville only allowed them to score one run in the third to make it 6-1.
"Our guys simply did a good job of being ready to make plays and our pitchers executed well on making good pitches and hitting their locations," Branson said.
He said there are a few things the team can do to try to avoid giving its opponents scoring chances.
"It is a combination of a couple of things - starting with our pitchers locating their pitches better and not putting runners on with walks, and defensively, anticipating and making adjustments to where the pitch locations are," Branson said.
The Indians added to their lead with three more runs in the fourth inning and one more in the sixth inning. Russellville scored 10 runs on 11 hits and had one error. Eugene scored two runs on eight hits and had three errors.
Trenton Morrow led Russellville with five RBI and also had two hits. Chandler Miller was second on the team with two RBI. Nick Thompson had a team-high three hits. Dawson Korch pitched 4 1/3 innings and struck out four batters for Russellville.
Branson said the team played at a high level against two quality opponents during the tournament.
"We were pretty good offensively in both games and, outside of a couple minor mistakes, I was pleased," Branson said.
The Indians are 5-1 this fall and their next game is 11:30 a.m. Sept. 22 at New Bloomfield versus Bunceton.