By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

TAYLORSVILLE — Resurrection is attempting to win its fourth straight Class 1A South State championship Tuesday night.

And in the process keep their quest for a third consecutive Class 1A state championship alive as well.

For the second consecutive Saturday, at home with their backs against the proverbial wall, the Eagles responded in fine fashion and staved off elimination this time with an 8-0 win over visiting Taylorsvile in game two of the Class 1A South State finals. Resurrection dropped an exciting 3-2 loss on the road in game one on Thursday.

Now, after a one day delay, RCS will play its fourth elimination game in its past five games as it heads back to Smith County for the rubber match with the Tartars with a trip to the Class 1A overall state finals on the line.

“Again, the kids responded well with the season on the line,” second year RCS head coach Aron Frederic said. “We got off to a really good start, from the first at bat of the game. The senior leadership on this team showed the past two weeks. Now, we’ll go back to Taylorsville with a chance to advance.”

One of those seniors, shortstop Justin San Miguel set the one for the night right off the bat for RCS Saturday when he smacked a solo home run over the center field fence to lead off the bottom of the first for the Eagles.

But the home team was far from done. The Eagles then loaded the bases with two outs, and Harris Hnkle drew a walk to make it 2-0 followed by Phillip Lauchassee doing the same to raise the total to 3-0. Bryce Brown’s ground ball was misplayed into a two-run error by the Tartars and before most fans were settled into their seats RCS had a commanding 5-0 lead entering the second stanza.

And that really would be all senior pitcher Trace Tingle would need to keep the RCS season alive for at least one more game. All he did was hurl a complete game, one-hit shutout striking out 11 in a dominating performance to pick up the win on the hill.

“Trace showed the competitor that he is in the performance he had on the mound tonight,” Frederic added.

Just for good measure, Tingle decided to get in on the fun offensively as well as he smashed a solo home run to lead off the second to make it 6-0.

San Miguel’s RBI-single in the third made it 7-0, and Michael Wayne Decoteau completed the scoring with a run-scoring sacrifice fly in the sixth.

Resurrection’s historic run started four seasons ago when it won its first Class 1A South State championship in 2021 in a three game battle against Stringer. The Eagles, under the guidance of legendary head coach Johnny Olsen, came up short, however, in the state finals falling to Tupelo Christian.

But RCS wasn’t to be denied the next season as the Eagles rolled to the 2022 Class 1A state championship with a two game sweep of Biggersville. Resurrection ended that season, Olsen’s final one, with an impressive 33-5 record.

Then, last season, with their third straight South State championship secured, the Eagles returned to the title tilt and swept West Union in the finals to defend its Class 1A state crown.

Will RCS have a chance to play for its fourth consecutive crown? Stay Tuned…