By Josh Prewitt

For the FCT

“We don’t have anything to be ashamed of,” Golden Tigers girls softball Coach John Smith said. “We had a great season – a memorable one ­­– and won a record 38 games, Area Runner-up at Area 14 Tournament and North Region Runner-up, earning us a trip to the State Championship.”

The Russellville Golden Tigers (38-20) had a historic season, making it to the state tournament in Montgomery for the first time in school history.

They lost to Marbury 2-0 in the first game off an early two-run homer by the Lady Bulldogs, after which the girls couldn’t get anything going themselves. They lost the next game when Russellville’s bats went cold, losing in the losers bracket to reigning Class 5A Champion Springville 13-3.

“You know softball is a game of good pitching, good defense, and timely hitting. We had done those for most of the season, but at the state championship, we couldn’t put them all together in a game,” Smith said.

With this season over, Smith and his Golden Tiger girls are already turning their attention to next season.

“We lose six outstanding seniors. They are going to be missed and hard to replace … a legendary group of Golden Tigers,” Smith said. “We have a talented, hungry bunch of Golden Tigers coming back. They got a taste of the state championship and want to go back.”

Smith said he told his team, “we no longer will be able to slip up on teams. We will now have a bull’s-eye on our backs as a state contender – a feather in a team’s cap if they beat us,” he said. “We are going to have to bring our A-game every game.”