FCA TOURNEY: Broderick walk-off sends Holtville home with victory over Pike Road; Prattville tops STJ
Pike Road starter Jackson Fuller was the tough-luck losing pitcher in the Patriots’ loss to Holtville on Wednesday in the FCA Jason Armstrong Memorial Tourney at Paterson Field. (Tim Gayle)
COMBINED REPORTS
It was an early-season matchup that had a playoff feel to it as the 5A state runners-up from the last two seasons met in the 30th FCA Jason Armstrong Memorial Baseball Tournament at Paterson Field on Wednesday night.
Pike Road, the 2021 finalist, battled Holtville, the 2022 finalist, evenly for seven innings before Holtville coach Scott Tubbs dipped into his bench and called on pinch hitter Markus Broderick with two outs in the bottom of the seventh.
Broderick took a strike, fouled off another pitch, then slammed the next one over the left field wall for his first home run of the season and a 2-0 victory over the Patriots.
“It was a fastball into a barrel, let me tell you,” Broderick said.
The dramatic ending was the perfect ending to an error-free pitcher’s dual that saw Holtville’s Tanner Potts and Pike Road’s Jackson Fuller keep their opponents off balance for most of the night.
“Both pitchers threw well,” Holtville coach Scott Tubbs said. “Nobody was overpowering, it’s just their pitcher kept us off balance, ours kept them off balance and sound defense all the way around. He left one pitch up and we had the right guy at the plate when he left it up.”
Prior to the game-winning homer, Holtville (5-3) had managed three singles off of Fuller -- one by Potts in the fourth, another by Ethan Alston in the fifth and one by Randy Davis in the sixth. None of those players made it into scoring position and the Bulldogs only had two players reach second base all night.
Pike Road (8-3) had runners reach scoring position in each of the last five innings but only managed three singles and a double (Cody Markham in the fourth) off of Potts.
“I thought we played really well,” Pike Road coach Allen Ponder said. “It’s a game of inches, especially when you’re playing a team like that. We actually play very similar. I knew it would come down to one swing. We had our opportunities. We had runners in scoring position and they made some good pitches and we couldn’t find that big hit. I’m not going to say we made a mistake because Jackson Fuller was outstanding all night long, but they put a guy in the game, he found a barrel and they won the game.”
In the top of the seventh, Pike Road’s Brent Painter led off with a single to right and was replaced by pinch runner Trey Caver. Caver moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Grady Waren, but Fuller flied out to right and Chael Kerr popped up to end the threat.
In the bottom of the seventh, Potts was hit by a pitch and replaced by courtesy runner Cedrick Croskey. Croskey moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Braxton Potts before Lane Talley struck out for the second out.
Tubbs then called Broderick off the bench.
“I sat there all night and watched the dude shove, not against everybody but most people, and I had to get up there and make a statement for myself,” Broderick said.
He took a ball and was instructed not to swing until the first strike was called. The second pitch was right down the middle.
“It was even better than the pitch I hit out,” Broderick said. “But you’ve got to trust the process.”
After fouling off a pitch toward the Holtville dugout for the second strike, he didn’t have to wait long for his next opportunity.
“My man Coach Tubbs makes the call of the century and puts in a pinch hitter and that pinch hitter finds a huge barrel and the game’s over,” Ponder said.
Tubbs said his team “got lucky” with Broderick’s game-winning swing.
“He swings it well for us at times,” Tubbs said. “He just got a pitch he could handle. He sat over there all night (on the bench) and just finally ran into a pitch, which is good for us. It was going to come down to who made a mistake and nobody made one.”
Holtville has three more games in the tournament, playing Alabama Christian on Thursday at Riverwalk at 6 p.m., Trinity on Friday at Trinity at 2 p.m. and St. James on Saturday at Riverwalk at 4 p.m.
“We haven’t been playing very well as a team,” Tubbs said. “We’re young. We’ve got some veterans back but we’ve got a lot of new guys that haven’t had to be in the spotlight so we’re still trying to figure ourselves out. We don’t really have an identity right now and games like this will help us develop one.”
Broderick said a quality win on Wednesday is a step in the right direction.
“It’s definitely going to move more momentum into our next games,” he said. “We’ve got three more games this week. When you come off a walkoff and you’ve been struggling a little too much, it’s definitely going to give us some power.”
Pike Road has two games remaining in the tournament, playing Prattville on Friday at Paterson at 2 p.m. and Trinity on Saturday at Riverwalk at 2 p.m.
Prattville third baseman Mason Piper and catcher Clayton Smith get in a rundown with St. James’ KJ Jackson during the Lions’ win at Riverwalk on Wednesday. (Tim Gayle)
Prattville 11, St. James 6
From listening to the coaches, it was difficult to tell who won Wednesday’s game between St. James and Prattville.
Prattville scored five runs in the third inning to break a 5-5 tie and go on to win 11-6 in the 30th FCA Jason Armstrong Memorial Baseball Tournament at Riverwalk Stadium, but Kevin Hall nor Keith Lucky were pleased with what they saw in their first action in the prestigious tournament.
“For a while, I thought they were going to give us the game,” Lucky said. “Then we turned around and did.”
Prattville’s 10-hit attack, accompanied by eight walks, two hit batters and seven stolen bases, was potent in the Lions’ win, but it was difficult to discern the accomplishments of one team and the struggles of the other.
“We’re not playing very well,” Hall said. “It’s like every other day, it’s something different, but we’re not playing very well. We’ve got to figure that problem out. It’s like they’re not excited to be in the ballpark when they are playing and it shows. We’re a better team than what we’ve shown. It’s like they think people are going to fear Prattville and they don’t.”
St. James (7-3) scored at least a run in each of the first four innings, but stranded nine runners over five innings and didn’t find anyone on the mound among starter Cooper Wright and relievers Riley Britton and Clint Shores that challenged the Prattville batters.
“We had some good at-bats,” Lucky said. “We had some bad at-bats with runners in scoring position. We had plenty of opportunities to score more runs than we did. But, overall, the biggest disappointment was my pitching. For whatever reason, I’m having trouble with my pitching. I couldn’t tell you who my No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 is.”
The Trojans scored an unearned run in the first inning with the help of a pair of Prattville errors, but the Lions rallied for a 2-1 lead in the bottom half of the inning after Tanner Vance walked, Drew Jolley was hit by a pitch and both runners scored on a double by Mason Piper.
The Trojan loaded the bases in the second inning with one out, but only got a run out of it and tied the game at 5-5 in the third on an RBI triple by KJ Jackson, an RBI single by Caden Anderson and an RBI double by Clint Houser, who went 3 for 3 as the No. 9 batter in the lineup.
The Lions (8-3) broke open the game in the bottom of the third with RBI singles by Vance and Jolley and a two-run single by Jack Studdard. Vance went 1 for 1, reached base in all four at-bats and scored three times, while Jolley went 2 for 2 and reached base in all four at-bats, driving in three runs. Studdard went 2 for 2, scored three runs and drove in two more.
Prattville scored at least one run in all four innings the Lions stepped to the plate before the game was called by time, but that didn’t seem to ease the frustration of Hall.
“We don’t know which team is going to show up from day to day,” he said. “The one you saw today is not a team we want. I’m really disappointed in how we played. It was noticeable during warmups. We tried to warn them. It falls on deaf ears. We won’t get through our area if we continue to play like we’ve been playing.”
Prattville will play three more games in the tournament, facing Trinity on Thursday at Riverwalk at 2 p.m., Pike Road on Friday at 2 p.m. at Paterson Field and Providence Christian on Saturday at Paterson Field at 10 a.m.
St. James will play two more games in the tournament, facing Catholic on Thursday at Paterson Field at 4 p.m. and Holtville on Saturday at Riverwalk at 4 p.m.
Stanhope Elmore 3, Alabama Christian 0
Zach Stevens and Colton Walls hit back-to-back solo home runs to lift the Mustangs to a win over ACA in the 30th FCA Jason Armstrong Memorial Baseball Tournament at Paterson Field on Wednesday.
Walls went the distance on the mound to pick up the victory for the Mustangs while Hunter Barfoot took the loss for ACA.
The two teams play again on Thursday with Stanhope Elmore facing Andalusia while ACA will play Holtville. Both games are scheduled to be played at Riverwalk Stadium.
Andalusia 4, Prattville Christian 0
The Bulldogs scored all four runs on wild pitches to earn their second win in the 30th FCA Jason Armstrong Memorial Baseball Tournament at Paterson Field on Wednesday.
Andalusia starter Cody Walsh limited PCA hitters to just three hits while striking out seven in a complete-game win.
Bryce Masters was the losing pitcher despite a solid performance. He pitched 4 and a third innings, giving up four hits and striking out five.
The two teams are back in action on Thursday. PCA will LAMP at Paterson Field while Andalusia plays Stanhope Elmore at Riverwalk Stadium.
Schedule for the 30th FCA Jason Armstrong Memorial Tournament
Games will be played at Riverwalk Stadium and Paterson Field unless noted otherwise
Tuesday (3/7) results
Riverwalk Stadium
Park Crossing 5, Greenville 3
Andalusia 4, Chilton County 2 (10 inn.)
Pike County vs. G.W. Carver - cancelled
Wednesday (3/8) results
Riverwalk Stadium
Prattville 11, St. James 6
Elmore County 5, Montgomery Academy 2
LAMP 12, Brew Tech 5
Paterson Field
Stanhope Elmore 3, Alabama Christian 0
Andalusia 4, Prattville Christian 0
Holtville 2, Pike Road 0
Thursday (3/9) schedule/results
Riverwalk Stadium
Trinity 8, Prattville 4 (6 innings - rain)
Stanhope Elmore vs. Andalusia
6 p.m.: Holtville vs. Alabama Christian
Paterson Field
2 p.m.: Montgomery Academy vs. Brew Tech
4 p.m.: St. James vs. Catholic
6 p.m.: Prattville Christian vs LAMP
Friday (3/10) schedule
2 p.m.: Holtville at Trinity (Whittle-Armstrong Field)
5:30 p.m.: Catholic at Prattville Christian
6 p.m.: Providence Christian at Montgomery Academy
Paterson Field
2 p.m.: Prattville vs Pike Road
4 p.m.: Alabama Christian vs Elmore County
6 p.m.: Brew Tech vs. R.E. Lee
Saturday (3/11) schedule
Riverwalk Stadium
2 p.m.: Trinity vs Pike Road
4 p.m.: Holtville vs. St. James
6 p.m.: Greenville vs. R.E. Lee
Paterson Field
10 a.m.: Prattville vs Providence Christian
12 p.m.: Providence Christian vs Catholic
2 p.m.: Elmore County vs LAMP
Monday (3/13) schedule
Riverwalk Stadium
2 p.m.: Park Crossing vs. Brew Tech
4 p.m.: Catholic vs Jeff Davis