The Russellville Indians will brag about their strength of schedule, and rightfully so.
That gives them all the more reason to brag about having a 27-4 record as they begin play in the Class 2 Final Four at U.S. Ballpark in Ozark.
“The biggest key is just being able to go out there and stay relaxed,” Russellville coach Lucas Branson said. “Our kids have played one of the toughest schedules of just about any Class 2 team in the state. That was done for a reason.”
That reason was to get Russellville ready for the biggest stage, and that begins Monday against Plattsburg in the state semifinals. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Although half of Russellville’s losses are against teams playing in the Final Four this week -- St. Elizabeth and Southern Boone -- the Indians have piled up wins against five Class 4 schools and a pair of Class 5 programs.
“Playing at Blair Oaks on a Friday night is a lot different than playing at U.S Ballpark in a Final Four, but it’s a similar stage,” Branson said.
That stage prepared them for a difficult postseason, which included a 3-2 win in 10 innings against Eugene for the District 8 title.
“We talked about how we responded after we beat Eugene in the district championship game,” Branson said. “We felt like that was such a high point, and it was a mentally taxing game. We didn’t want to have a letdown.”
Russellville then beat Salisbury 6-2 in the sectional round last Monday before avenging a regular-season loss to third-ranked Putnam County, winning 3-2 in Wednesday’s quarterfinal round.
Branson noted the Putnam County game was mentally taxing, too.
“I think that our kids will be ready and be able to respond,” he said.
Russellville is back in the Final Four for the first time since 2018, while Plattsburg is in the state semifinals for the first time since 2009.
The 10th-ranked Tigers (28-8) beat Mid-Buchanan 4-1 for the District 15 championship. They followed that with a 7-2 sectional win against Maysville and a 9-0 quarterfinal victory against Windsor.
Wyatt Moran, the starting catcher, leads Plattsburg with a .450 batting average and 43 RBI. Also batting better than .300 for the Tigers are Joey Hofmeister (.337), Brock Steggall (.327) and Paul Nelson (.301). Kayden Carter is batting. .296 but has also drawn 38 walks.
“They’re a team that has really built their success upon just trying to create havoc on the bases,” Branson said. “They like to bunt, they like to try to run. That tells me they’re going to be a very athletic team that will have some speed throughout their lineup.”
Branson said he expects Plattsburg to pitch Steggall in Monday’s semifinal. Steggall has a 7-2 record with a 1.12 ERA and 97 strikeouts in 75⅓ innings. He pitched last Monday in the Tigers’ win against Maysville, striking out nine batters in seven innings.
“He’s a senior that’s been a very successful player throughout his high school career,” Branson said. “From what I’ve heard, he’s a competitor that will attack and throw a lot of strikes. Our guys will have to be ready on the offensive side.”
Also available to pitch for Plattsburg is Carter, who threw a two-hitter against Windsor. He is 7-5 with a 2.28 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 61⅓ innings.
Branson said Charlie Miller will be the starting pitcher for Russellville in the semifinal game. Miller, a University of Missouri baseball commit, has a 5-2 record with two saves, posting a 1.28 ERA with 89 strikeouts in 54⅔ innings.
“Charlie’s been really good all year,” Branson said. “We kind of expected him to be at the top of our pitching staff going into this season. We had a plan in place, that he was going to pitch a lot of the really big games on our schedule.
“At one point, just about every time he had been out on the mound, it was against somebody that was ranked at the time.”
Miller pitched a complete game against Salisbury, striking out 12 of the 28 batters he faced. Before that, he pitched a four-hit shutout in the district opener against New Bloomfield.
Logan Cinotto and Jesse Daniel are also expected to pitch at some point during the Final Four for the Indians. Cinotto is 8-0 with a 0.70 ERA and 84 strikeouts in 50 innings, while Daniel has a 7-2 record with three saves, recording a 1.37 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 46 innings.
Cinotto pitched the first six innings against Putnam County, striking out 12, and Daniel closed the seventh with a 1-2-3 inning.
“After how last spring went, going into this spring, our guys were going to have to work to increase their velocity, work on their secondary pitches and be able to throw strikes in different counts,” Branson said. “That’s something we really focused on at the beginning of the season.”
Miller leads the Russellville offense with a .402 batting average and 35 RBI, while catcher Jake Schulte is next with a .398 batting average. He is tied with Cinotto for the team lead with four home runs, hitting a homer in the Salisbury and Putnam County games.
“Jake has been one of our most consistent hitters all year,” Branson said. “… Then all of a sudden, he started getting really, really hot. We talked as a coaching staff, and my two assistants put him in the No. 2 hole.
“Thank God we did, because ever since then, he’s probably hitting well over .400.”
Also hitting better than .300 for the Indians are Daniel (.386), Alex Oligschlaeger (.379), Cinotto (.358) and Isaiah Kauffman (.337).
“The later you get in a season, you’ve got to have some depth,” Branson said. “You can’t just have one or two guys that you’re really focused on. Fortunately for us, our guys have put in a lot of extra work.”
When the regular season ended, Russellville moved up to the No. 1 ranking in the Class 2 poll. It’s a nice accolade, but …
“To be honest, it’s something we really haven’t talked about,” Branson said. “They haven’t even brought it up, and I know they know that we’re ranked No. 1. They’re focused on Monday and Tuesday, and they’re not allowing any outside distractions to even bother them.
“That’s how we’ve been all year. We talked about what our goals were at the beginning of the season. We expect to be playing on the last day of May.”
Notes: Monday’s first semifinal game is between fourth-ranked Portageville (30-3) and ninth-ranked Gainesville (22-6). First pitch is scheduled for 10 a.m. … Although Russellville and Plattsburg have not played each other, Branson coached against the Tigers in the 2009 Final Four when he was the coach at Linn. Plattsburg defeated Linn 6-2 in the Class 2 third-place game. … Putnam County is the only common opponent for Russellville and Plattsburg. The Tigers lost 14-4 in seven innings in an April 12 home game against the Midgets. … Russellville is seeking its first state semifinal win in program history, finishing third in Class 2 in both 2006 and 2018. Assistant coaches Tyler Watkins and Brian Bishop played on the 2006 team and Watkins was an assistant under Branson with the 2018 team. … The Class 2 third-place game is at 10 a.m. Tuesday, followed by the championship game at 1 p.m.