Red Devils use big innings to fly past Fairview

Mar. 28—RUSSELL — Russell had not seen the diamond in a game setting in the last seven days.

The Red Devils took an aggressive approach at the plate in their return to competition. It helped give Russell an early lead and eventually an 8-3 win over Fairview on Monday night.

"As a hitter, you need to see pitching," Russell coach Tim Rice said. "We went into that Rowan County game (on March 20) after we played prior to that on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. We came back on Monday, and we were swinging the bats and playing very well. We had some weather and some scheduling issues, so we had a week off. Monday games are always tough. I'm a big believer in giving them Sunday off."

The Red Devils didn't start out flat after scoring four runs in their first two at-bats. Rice was pleased with the offensive production, but felt they left additional runs on the field.

"We had plenty of opportunity to score runs," Rice said, "but we didn't execute in certain situations. We swung at some bad pitches and popped some things up. We would take a pitch with a guy on third base that we can get on the ground to score that run. We did come through though with some clutch hits. Nathan Totten picked us up late and we scored a few at the end to put the game away."

Despite the early deficit, the Eagles kept clawing back. Fairview cut the margin in half in the fourth inning and added a run in the sixth inning to keep the game close.

Eagles coach Cody Sammons believes his team can push through and maintain the same level of play with a few minor adjustments.

"We hit the ball well," Sammons said. "I thought we put the ball in play a lot. We just have to do the little things so we can get over that hump.

"We have played some tough teams this year. We've seen Raceland twice and Lewis County and Russell, nearly every team in the 63rd District. They are good teams. We've hung with them pretty well so far. Hopefully as the season progresses, we can get better."

Russell (3-2) tacked on a few insurance runs in the sixth frame after the Eagles cut its lead to 5-3 in the top of the inning.

Luke Pennington and Parker Mitchell opened the stanza with walks and found their way to second and third when leadoff hitter Kyle Mokas stepped to the plate.

Mokas singled up the middle to score both runs. Totten drove in another with a sacrifice fly.

Mokas was 2 for 3 at the plate and scored three times. He picked up the win on the mound in relief.

Matthew Haggard produced the Red Devils' first run with a sacrifice play in the opening frame. The team added three more tallies in their next at-bat.

Mitchell lined a one-out offering that reached the fence in the left-center field gap and the outfielder didn't stop until he made it to third base with an RBI triple. Mokas and Elijah Hankins each added a run-scoring single.

"Before the game, we talked about being selectively aggressive," Rice said. "Just because you can hit a pitch, it doesn't mean you should. You can tip your hat to Fairview. They threw it pretty well. They threw strikes and they minimized their walks. They were around the zone. We ended up getting deeper in some counts. We weren't as aggressive as we should have been, but we got the key hits when we needed them and we came away with the win."

Like most teams at this point of the season, Russell used a pitching platoon. Hankins, Mokas and Clark Looney combined to hold Fairview to seven hits. Red Devils pitching struck out eight and issued just one walk.

"We're trying to get guys work," Rice said. "We've got a big week at spring break. We are going to Florida. You're going to see that same rotation this week. We are trying to keep pitch counts around 50. Next week, we are going to look to extend some guys. We play five games in four days."

A repetitive pitching change can also disrupt the rhythm of the opposing hitters.

"From the first pitcher to the second, Mokas throws from a different arm angle," Sammons said. "And then the last guy had a faster wind up. It was a big deal hitting against pitchers with different motions and a different ball delivery. Russell did a good job of mixing that up."

Izaac Johnson produced a 2-for-3 outing at the dish for the Eagles. He also made his first appearance of the season on the bump.

Johnson drove in a run with a single in the fourth inning. Fairview (2-4) secured another with the assistance from an error.

Johnson's double put himself in scoring position in the sixth stanza. RC Vanhoose plated him with an opposite-field single.

"I told him that it's the first time that he's hit the ball like that this year," Sammons said of Johnson. "It's what we've been waiting on. He threw well. We're excited for him. He's only a sophomore, so we still have a lot of time with him."

Mitchell officially ended his night 1 for 1 at the plate for Russell. He also scored twice.

FAIRVIEW 000 201 0 — 3 7 3

RUSSELL 130 103 X — 8 9 2

Reihs, I. Johnson (4) and Vanhoose; Hankins, Mokas (3), Looney (5) and Whitt. W—Mokas. L—Reihs. 2B—I. Johnson (F). 3B—Mitchell (R).