RUSSELLVILLE — As Spring Break came to a close, Harrison baseball used the opportunity to get back in the win column. They did it with their defense rising to the challenge.
Opposite the Cyclones of Russellville on the road, Harrison allowed just one run and made plays in the field to survive seven innings and end their road trip with a 2-1 win.
Harrison hit the scoreboard first when Dylan Block connected for a two-out single to center field and later scored when teammate Cy Madden hit a RBI-double to left field that gave the Goblins a 1-0 lead midway through the first inning.
The home team sent their leadoff hitter around the bases for their first run to tie the game after one inning but it was all the runs that Russellville could muster against the Goblins.
Both teams went scoreless through the next two innings and Russellville found themselves with a pair of runners in scoring position with one out in the bottom of the fourth. The Cyclones drove a pitch to left field and sent their closest runner toward home. Harrison’s Kaden Quandt fielded the ball in the outfield and rifled a throw toward the catcher where the Goblins were able to tag out the runner and keep the score at a 1-1 ballgame.
In the top of the sixth inning, Harrison made its move after Beck Jones and Logan Plumlee were walked on back-to-back plate appearances. With two outs, Jarrett Wilson pushed the ball out of the infield and into centerfield to drive in Jones for the go-ahead run.
Russellville had one last chance in the bottom of the seventh when the Cyclones were able to get three runners on base with walks. After a strikeout from Wilson on the mound, Harrison picked off the runner at third and needed one more out.
The final Russellville batter cracked the bat with a deep drive to left field where Quandt was waiting to make the final out. The senior tracked down the ball and made an acrobatic catch at the wall to ensure the Goblins a 2-1 win.
Madden got the win on the mound going 5.2 innings while allowing just one run on three hits with five strikeouts. Wilson got the save with one strikeout in 1.1 innings.
Block and Jones provided one run each in the Harrison win.
Block, Wilson, Madden and Timber Crenwelge each had a hit in the game. Madden and Wilson registered one RBI each.
