RUSSELLVILLE - The Russellville Indians made the most of their makeshift senior sendoff Wednesday evening, beating Eugene 13-2.
Every starter but one had at least one hit, and six different Russellville batters drove in a run in the win.
Afterward, the team's seven seniors, who had seen three straight district titles and were looking for a fourth before their spring season was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, walked onto the field with a parent on either side to hug teammates, shake the hand of coach Lucas Branson, and celebrate their accomplishments during the last four years, which included a Class 2 third-place finish two years ago in O'Fallon.
"Well, it was disappointing, obviously did not have that opportunity for the seniors because that had been something, winning three in a row, they had taken a lot of pride in," Branson said after the game. "That was going to be the goal this spring, without a doubt. They're a resilient group."
Two of the seniors in attendance - Cooper Basnett and Collin Luckenotte - did not dress or play in the game. They, along with Nick Graham, Dawson Koch, Braden Hickey, Trenton Morrow and Matthew Miller, played baseball at Russellville for four years. Koch will play college ball while attending Westminster, and Miller and Morrow will do the same at Mineral Area College.
Koch started on the mound for the Indians and threw a gem. He gave up a one-out single in the top of the first inning and a two-out infield hit in the top of the fifth, and in between set down 13 consecutive batters, seven by strikeout. He threw six two-hit innings with nine strikeouts total and zeroes everywhere else.
"Dawson, going into the spring, we knew he was going to be our No. 1 pitcher, and it's no secret to anybody that we play, he was going to be our guy," Branson said. "On senior night, I wanted to give him the opportunity to come out and pitch a little bit deeper into the game than what we've been allowing our kids throughout the summer, and he was fantastic. He's got great stuff, he's going to have a great career at Westminster."
Koch led off the bottom of the first with a single, and Logan Cinotto followed in the same fashion. Isaiah Kauffman, courtesy running for Koch, moved to third when Morrow hit the first of his two sacrifice flies, and scored on a single to left by Miller. Cinotto was thrown out trying to score from second, but Russellville added another run after singles by Hickey and Landon Plochberger.
The Indians added two runs in the third to take a 4-0 lead. The Eagles made a pitching change, and then after a walk, a hit batsman, three straight singles and a fielder's choice had made it 8-0, Hickey stepped in. He crushed a three-run opposite-field home run to right to break the game open for Russellville, which sent 12 hitters to the plate in the fourth inning.
Of the seniors at the plate, Hickey was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and four RBI, Morrow was 1-for-2 with a run scored and three RBI, Miller hit 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI, Koch was 2-for-5 and Graham was 0-for-1 with a run scored, two walks (both in the fourth) and a sac bunt.
Cinotto added a 4-for-4 day with three singles and a double, three runs scored and two driven in and Plochberger hit 2-for-3 with a run scored, reached on an error and drove in two runs. All told, the Indians' 2-through-6 hitters collected 11 hits and drove in 12 runs.
"Our philosophy is we're trying to be aggressive early in the count," Branson said. "I want our guys going up there ready to hit, first pitch, as long as it is a good pitch and in their location. That's been our philosophy for several years, and our guys are used to that. They know what pitches they want to attack, and we've got some guys, not just the guys that graduated, but also some of the younger guys that were key pieces of what our play was tonight, they show signs of being really good players in the future."
Eugene won the JV game 9-4 in five innings. Nolan Gartner drove in two runs for Russellville and Isaiah Kauffman and Jesse Daniels were both 2-for-3 at the plate, Kauffman with a pair of runs scored. Jake Schulte, Nolan Schroer and Gartner each drew two walks in the loss.
Brent Steenburgen and Drew Sommerer both doubled for Eugene, Garrett Hogard hit 2-for-2 with an RBI and two runs scored and Matthew Stieferman was 1-for-2 with two RBI and a run scored.
Kauffman took the loss in the JV game, allowing four earned runs on two hits, three walks and three strikeouts in 2 innings. Daniels allowed five runs, four earned, on six hits and three strikeouts in 1 innings of relief. For the Eagles, Hogard threw three innings as the starter, giving up two earned runs on four hits while walking six and striking out seven.