IBERIA, Mo. - If the Russellville Indians weren't big believers in redemption before Monday's Class 2 sectional game, they are now.
After allowing three unearned runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, Russellville tied the game in the top of the sixth, then scored three more runs in the ninth to rally past the Iberia Rangers for a 6-3 win at Hoover Field.
"This is a pretty tight group, and we've talked all year about what kind of mental toughness we have and how we handle adversity," Russellville coach Lucas Branson said. "We've talked about being able to take punches, pick ourselves back up and start throwing some punches.
"Tonight, we did that."
The game was scoreless until the bottom of the fifth inning. With two outs, Iberia sandwiched an error with a pair of walks to load the bases.
Zach Voss, the next batter, hit a high fly ball down the right-field line, and Russellville's Ethan Huff drifted over to try to make the catch to end the inning.
However, Huff just overran the ball and it dropped in fair by about five feet. All three runners took off on contact and scored to give the Rangers a 3-0 lead.
"It was a routine catch on a fly ball I should have made," Huff said. "I picked myself up, and my teammates - they're great teammates - they picked me up in the dugout and gave me lots of hugs."
Huff would redeem himself, but before he did, Russellville had a quick answer in the top of the sixth.
Trent Morrow took the first pitch he saw from Iberia pitcher Garrett Ray and hit it over the left-field fence for a two-run home run, just a few feet beyond the 305-foot sign. Morrow's blast, which scored Braden Hickey, was his first home run of the season and cut the Rangers' lead to one run.
"It was one of the best feelings in the world," Morrow said.
Three batters later, it was Huff's turn at redemption. Russellville's No. 9 hitter bounced a high chopper over Iberia third baseman Carter Halley for a single, scoring Landon Plochberger to tie the game at 3.
The slate was clean for Huff, who was no longer worried about missing that fly ball 15 minutes earlier.
"I told him before that half inning, 'Ethan, you're going to bat in this inning in a key spot,'" Branson said. "When he got over to first base, I know I was extremely happy (for him)."
Russellville pitcher Austin Roe reached his pitch-count limit on the final batter of the sixth inning, getting a strikeout on pitch No. 105. In six innings, the junior left-hander finished with nine strikeouts and five walks, and he didn't allow a hit after the second inning.
"Austin's a gamer. He's going to compete," Branson said. " In this game, in this spot, I knew what I was going to get with him tonight, and he was fantastic."
After catching six innings, Morrow came in to pitch the seventh. He retired the side to send the game to extra innings, then induced a double play to end the eighth with the game still tied at 3.
In the ninth, Morrow stepped to the plate with two outs. With a 1-1 count, he lined a single back up the middle to score Mason Stewart and Matt Miller to break the tie.
Morrow, who advanced all the way to third base on an overthrow to home plate, scored on a single by Plochberger to extend Russellville's lead to 6-3.
"This game was probably the best game I've ever played in my life," said Morrow, who finished 2-for-5 with four RBI and two runs scored.
Morrow retired the Rangers in order in the bottom of the ninth, ending the game with a popup to Stewart just beyond second base.
Morrow faced the minimum in three innings of relief to get his second straight win. He only threw 27 pitches, so he will be in line to start on the mound for the quarterfinal game.
"I don't know what to say about what Trent has done the last three games," Branson said. "He's been in there in some spots with the game on the line.
"Last year as a freshman, he was on the mound when we won a district championship. This year, he was on the mound when we won a district championship. And now, he's on the mound when we won a sectional game. He should be 100 percent, ready to go Wednesday night."
Russellville finished with 10 hits. Huff went 2-for-4, adding a single in the eighth, and Plochberger finished 2-for-5 with a pair of singles.
Voss took the loss for Iberia, giving up four runs on six hits with three walks and five strikeouts in 3 innings of relief.
Ray pitched the first 5 innings for Iberia, allowing two runs on four hits with three walks and six strikeouts. He got out of a no-out, bases-loaded jam in the fourth with three straight strikeouts.
"We had a key opportunity to get a key hit in that spot, to maybe break the game open," Branson said. "I thought about maybe trying to put a bunt down in that situation, but I kind of hate to do that with the bases loaded because you have a chance to run yourself completely out of the inning."
Iberia's only hits of the game were a single by Cole Stillwell in the first inning and a single by Brayden Libbert in the second. The Rangers, ranked No. 9 in Class 2, end the season with a 17-3 record.
Russellville (18-13) will host Canton (12-8) on Wednesday in a rematch of last year's quarterfinal game. The Tigers had a 5-4 walk-off win Monday against Sturgeon in Columbia.
Wednesday's first pitch is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
"We want that game more than anything," Morrow said.