Eagles drop J'ville game
Rusk finishes second in Fairfield tourney
BY JEREME HUBBARD

By the time the Rusk Eagles took the field on Thursday evening, they had already taken down one opponent on the day, defeating John Tyler in the opening round of the Fairfield Tournament. Unfortunately for the Rusk fans who braved the cold weather, the Eagles weren't able to take down their second opponent of the day, as the Eagles fell to the Jacksonville Indians 6-5.

The Eagles came out hot, scoring 3 runs in the first inning, as four of the first five hitters got hits. Macon Lindsey and Chance Davis both connected on RBI singles in the inning, and Trent Vaught slugged an RBI triple to right-center field. The Eagles looked to be in complete control of the ball game at that point, but were held to only one hit over the next three innings.

The Indians however, managed to climb back into it, scoring two runs in the second inning and adding another run in the third inning against Eagles starting pitcher Chance Davis. Davis was able to wiggle out of a few jams, thanks to the help of his teammates.

The first big defensive play came with the bases loaded and two outs in the second inning. J.D. Beard came from his shortstop position to make a spectacular play on a scorching ball hit up the middle by Jacksonville pitcher Frankie Almendarez, stepping on second base for the final out. In the third inning, it was catcher Trent Vaught stopping the Indians, catching a high foul ball behind the plate for the third out of the inning, with two runners on base for the Indians.

With the game tied, the Eagles took the lead again after another offensive outbreak with three hits in the fifth inning, including a two RBI single by Beard, to put Rusk up by two runs, 5-3. Holding a two run lead entering the top of the sixth inning, Eagles Head Coach George Banda went to his bullpen, bringing in Cody Conner. The tall right-hander was unable to silence the Jacksonville bats, allowing three quick hits and two runs in one-third of an inning.

Banda once again went to the bullpen, bringing in Stephen Halbert. Halbert was able to stop the bleeding, but not before the Indians knocked in another run. The Eagles forced a double play to end the inning, giving themselves one final chance to come back and win. The Indians had other plans though, and relief pitcher Terrance Canady forced three quick outs to end the final inning.

The loss dropped Rusk to 6-2 on the year.

Although the loss was obviously frustrating, Coach Banda was positive about the general direction of the team after the game.

"I feel like we are where we should be in terms of pitching and at the plate as we head into Monday's district opener. Those games are what matters. We have a lot of youth on this ball club, and we are going through some growing pains right now, but we do have some great senior leadership to get us through it," he said.

In other tournament action, Rusk beat John Tyler 9-8 before defeating Ferris 10-0. Rusk also took a 7-5 victory over Fairfield to win third place. Jacksonville went on to win the tournament.

Rusk will start District 21- 3A play on Monday, March 5 in Diboll, and then will see action in the Van Tournament March 6-8. The home district opener is March 11 against Huntington. Rusk is 8-2 on the season.