WEEKEND PREPS: Trinity baseball sweeps Catholic; Prattville dominates Dothan
BASEBALL
Park Crossing 14, Sidney Lanier 4 (5)
The Poets scored three runs in the top of the first, but Park Crossing answered with eight in the bottom half of the inning and kept pouring it on to defeat Lanier 14-4 in a Saturday game halted by the mercy rule.
The Thunderbirds improved to 3-1 in 6A Area 3 play. Robert E. Lee leads the area at 5-1, but the Thunderbirds own the tiebreaker over the Generals and can win the area by defeating G.W. Carver (2-2 in area play) on Friday at Carver and Saturday at Park Crossing.
Matthew Pettway led the Thunderbirds, going 2 for 4 with two runs scored and four RBIs. Marcus Smith was 2 for 3 with a pair of runs scored and an RBI and Christopher Mayo drove in a pair of runs.
Terry Ware was the winning pitcher, allowing four runs on seven hits over 3.2 innings while walking two and striking out five. Smith pitched the final 1.1 innings, allowing two hits while striking out one.
Macon East Academy 14, Morgan Academy 1 (4)
CECIL -- Bryant Rascoll allowed just four hits and an earned run while striking out four and walking none in a complete-game performance limited to four innings by the mercy rule on Friday.
Jabe Boroff went 2 for 2 and drove in three runs, getting a pair of singles and getting hit by a pitch twice, to lead the Knights. Dalton Nickles went 2 for 3 with a pair of doubles and three RBIs, while Rascoll went 2 for 2 with a walk and a double, along with three RBIs.
Hunter Timmerman went 2 for 3, including a two-run home run to left and a double, driving in four runs, while Deonte Powell went 1 for 2 with a double and an RBI.
The Knights (25-3) are scheduled to host an area doubleheader against Lakeside on Tuesday.
Prattville 7-11, Dothan 0-0
DOTHAN -- The Prattville Lions swept the Dothan Wolves in a 7A Area 3 doubleheader 7-0 and 11-0 on Friday to extend their winning streak to 15 games and improve to 4-0 in area play.
In the opener, Drew Jolley threw a complete-game shutout, allowing just four hits and three walks in seven innings of work while striking out six to improve to 5-0 on the season.
Offensively, the Lions were led by Travis Stauter, who went 4 for 4 with three RBIs, a double and a two-run home run in the top of the sixth to extend the lead to 6-0.
Braxton Piper went 2 for 3 with a walk and scored a run.
In the second game, which serves as a tiebreaker should the two teams finish tied in the area standings at the end of the season, Landen Rigdon, Grant Williams and Will Braxton combined for a one-hit, five-inning shutout. Rigdon picked up the win with three strikeouts, a walk and just one hit allowed in two innings. Williams threw 2 hitless innings with a pair of strikeouts and Baskin added a perfect inning with one strikeout to finish the game.
The Lions capitalized on 13 walks and three hit batters. Avery Hall started the scoring with a two-run double in the top of the third. Peyton Harris extended the lead to 5-0 with a two-run single later in the inning. Chandler Gibbs finished off the scoring with an RBI single in the fourth to put the Lions up 11-0.
Prattville (24-3) travels to Enterprise Tuesday for a 4:30 p.m. matchup in their final area series.
Prattville 9, Dothan 1
PRATTVILLE -- Slade Wood struck out six and surrendered just three hits over 4.1 innings to help the Lions win their 13th consecutive game with a 9-1 victory over the Wolves at Roger Lambert Field on Thursday.
The senior raised his record to 6-1 this season, allowing just one run, none earned, while walking three. Landen Ridgon pitched 1.1 innings, allowing one hit, Travis Stauter threw a scoreless inning, striking out two and walking one and Calin Tate got the final out on a groundout.
Prattville (22-3) improved to 3-0 in area play, securing the first game of the home-and-home series with Dothan and the series with Jeff Davis. Enterprise is 2-0, followed by Dothan at 0-1 and Jeff Davis at 0-4. The Lions travel to Dothan on Friday for a doubleheader at 4:30 p.m. Only the first game counts in the area standings, while the second game is a tiebreaker in case the two teams should finish tied in the area standings at the end of the regular season.
The Lions took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second on Andy Hall’s two-run shot, his fifth home run of the season. They added four more runs in the third on doubles by Campbell Seamon and Stauter, a passed ball that scored Stauter and a two-run single by Braxton Piper. The Lions picked up another run in the fifth and two more in the sixth.
Stauter went 2 for 4 with a double, scoring two runs and driving in two more, while Ryley DuBose went 2 for 4 with a run scored and an RBI.
LAMP 14, Brew Tech 0
LAMP seniors Will Romanowski and Junseo Park each had three hits and the Tigers used a seven-run first inning to put the game out of reach early in a 14-0 victory over Brew Tech on Senior Day earlier this week.
Romanowksi, Park and junior Grayson Hall all drove in a pair of runs, while Park had three doubles and scored three times. Sophomore Andrew Lutz added two hits.
On the mound, sophomore Carter Lehman pitched two no-hit innings, striking out three for the victory. Junior Josh Bell scattered two hits over 1 2/3 innings of relief, while Romanowski finished the victory by tossing the final 1 1/3 innings, striking out two and initiating a double-play to end the game.
Brew Tech managed just three hits in the contest, two of which came from Daniel Phillips.
Jeremiah Elliot took the loss for the Rams, allowing five runs on four hits in the start.
Park Crossing 14, Sidney Lanier 0 (5)
Demarrion Lee pitched a complete-game two hitter while striking out five and walking two in the Thunderbirds’ five-inning rout of the Poets on Thursday at Paterson Field.
The Thunderbirds improved to 2-1 in 6A Area 3 play, a half-game behind Robert E. Lee, which defeated Carver on Thursday. Park Crossing (6-8) and Lanier return to action on Saturday with an 11 a.m. doubleheader at Paterson Field. Only the first game counts in the area standings, with the second serving as a tiebreaker.
Terry Ware went 2 for 3, scoring a run and driving in three more to lead the Park Crossing offense, which was aided by 10 Lanier errors. James Graham scored three runs and drove in two more, while Marcus Smith went 1 for 3 with a run scored and two RBIs.
Lee 7-7, G.W. Carver 5-2
The Generals swept the Wolverines over two days to clinch a playoff bid.
In the first win, Lee was lead by James Sanders going 2-for-2 with 2 RBIs. Jerald Bonner 2-for-2 with a RBI while Keishaun McDaniel 1-for-3 with a run driven in.
TJ Lambert was the winning pitcher going six innings and giving up four runs and striking seven. Bonner got the save pitching one inning and recording two strikeouts.
On Saturday, Kalab Fannin led the way with two hits. Lambert added two hits and Keshun Marbury had a hit and 3 RBIs.
Bonner was the winning pitcher with 11 strikeouts.
Lee (14-14) plays at Elmore County on Monday.
SOFTBALL
St. James 15-18, Booker T. Washington 0-0
The Trojans swept the Eagles, pitching a pair of three-inning no hitters to complete the 4A Area 5 sweep with wins of 15-0 and 18-0 on Friday at St. James.
In the first game, Emily Needham went 2 for 3 with a home run and struck out six in two innings of work. Emerson Hagen came in to pitch the third and final inning.
In the second game, Hagen, Cam Greene and Ava Stanford all pitched one inning each, with Greene striking out all three batters she faced.
Jenny Johnson, KK Hall, Greene and Stanford all had two hits each.
St. James (13-6) travels to Prattville to play Prattville Christian on Monday.
It took most of the season, but it looks like LAMP is starting to return to form.
LAMP 5, Alabama Christian 0
The LAMP Golden Tigers, who won the 4A Area 3 regular season title a year ago and advanced to the state tournament, defeated Alabama Christian Academy 5-0 on Thursday at Lagoon Park Softball Complex and head coach Anthony Norris is starting to see glimpses of the team he thought he would see at the beginning of the season.
Every team is different, any coach would tell you, but Norris expected a team with some returning offensive talent, along with one of the top pitchers in the area, to be successful immediately. Instead, the Golden Tigers struggled in every phase, bearing little resemblance to a championship-caliber team.
“I was caught off guard a little bit,” Norris admitted. “I think I was caught so off guard that I wasn’t sure of myself. We just struggled to find our identity. I think we’re starting to find it, though.
“But I’ll tell you what I learned. Of course, we all know this, growing up and playing sports, but some people just have an air. The leadership role, they just have ‘it.’ And it can come from uncommon kids. I think back to last year and my catcher Hayden Foley. She wasn’t a great hitter and she probably didn’t throw out two runners all year, but people wanted to be around her and play hard around her.
“And kids like that are very important to this program because we’re all about academics. We don’t field a bunch of absolute athletes.
The Golden Tigers didn’t lose but three seniors, but Peyton Cely was a veteran infielder, Chandler Gaskin was a veteran center fielder and Foley, as Norris explained, was one of those popular players. But there was more at work than just missing leadership. LAMP was struggling both offensively and defensively, in part because four starters -- including pitcher Caitlin Russell -- were part of the girls’ basketball team that played in the regionals the day of the season opener.
“We started off playing without my four of my starters,” Norris said. “They were still in the basketball regionals. She wasn’t 100 percent on her pitching, missing on her rise ball. She just now is starting to find it.”
Offensively, he needed to replace the dependable hitting in the middle of the lineup from Cely and Gaskin and got it from an unexpected source, right fielder Chandler Ming.
“She has stepped up,” Norris said. “She’s hitting in the three-hole now and all of a sudden she’s hitting with a little power and that was the missing piece on the top of the order.”
But it didn’t click until he moved Russell to the leadoff position. In all his years of coaching, he never considered putting his best hitter in the leadoff position.
“I was a traditionalist,” Norris admitted. “Some of the baseball coming out in me. I kept thinking Caitlin, my best hitter, needs to be in that three or four hole. But we just could not generate runs. So I finally decided I had to roll the dice and put my best hitter in the one hole and my second-best hitter (Joanna Joiner) in the two hole and it’s worked out. She’s going to make something happen at some point in the game when she’s got a bat in her hand. And for her to lead off, everybody else is stepping up, seeing Caitlin getting a leadoff hit.”
He saw more of that on Thursday as Russell went 2 for 3 and scored three times as the leadoff hitter. Gracey Norris also went 2 for 3 and scored once in a pitching duel between Russell and ACA’s Izzy Warrick.
LAMP (13-13) improved to 3-0 in area play, finding more hits (nine) from its veterans than ACA (8-19) found in its newcomers. Russell struck out 13 and limited the Eagles to a pair of singles from Warrick and Anna Gleason.
Both teams continue area play on Monday, with LAMP playing host to Bullock County in a doubleheader and ACA (2-2 in area play) traveling to St. James.
Prattville Christian Academy 5, Marbury 0
MARBURY -- Lara Beth Nesmith scattered three hits and struck out nine in a complete-game performance to lead the Panthers to a shutout of the Bulldogs on Thursday.
Jersee Carter went 2 for 3 and Sarah Williams went 2 for 4 to lead the Panthers. Chloe Hollon, Brinkley Sailors and Payson Hanson each had a hit with an RBI.
PCA (14-6) travels to Montgomery on Tuesday for a crucial 3A Area 6 matchup with Catholic at 3:30 p.m.
Prattville 19, Jeff Davis 1 (5)
Kylie Jarmon went 2 for 3 with a pair of stolen bases and allowed just one hit in the circle as Prattville evened its record in area play with a 19-1 win over the Volunteers at Lagoon Park Softball Complex on Thursday afternoon.
Prattville improved to 2-2 in 7A Area 3 play and is tied with Dothan (2-2), which lost to Enterprise (4-0) on Thursday. The Vols (0-4) are in fourth place in the area standings.
Jarman pitched a complete game, allowing just one hit and one run in five innings of work while striking out seven and walking two.
Magen Baker went 3 for 3 with three RBIs to lead the Lions at the plate, while Pyper Castro went 3 for 4 with a double and four RBIs and Kaytie Chandler went 3 for 4 with a pair of RBIs. Kaylee Robles went 3 for 5 with two doubles and three RBIs and Jayden Kendrick added a two-run home run.
Prattville (12-11) returns to action in the Calera Round Robin.
Calera 2, Prattville 0
CALERA -- Kylee Jarmon went 3 for 3 at the plate and Kaylee Robles and Pyper Castro both went 1 for 3 but the Lions lost the final game of the Calera Round Robin on Friday night at Calera’s athletic complex.
Jarman took the loss in the circle, allowing just five hits and two runs while striking out three in six innings of work.
Prattville (14-12) returns to action on Monday at home against Chilton County.
Prattville 6, Chelsea 5
CALERA -- Sarah Grace Jones went 2 for 2 and drove in three runs and Jessica Cord went 1 for 2, scored twice and drove in a pair of runs as the Lions edged Chelsea 6-5 in the second game of the Calera Round Robin on Friday at Calera’s ahletic complex.
Pyper Castro went 2 for 3 and scored a run, Kylie Jarman went 1 for 3 and scored a run and Kaylee Robles went 1 for 2 and scored a run.
Kaytie Chandler was the winning pitcher, allowing five hits on five runs while striking out four in six innings of work.
Prattville 8, McAdory 4
Sarah Grace Jones went 2 for 3 with a home run and drove in three runs as the Lions opened play in the Calera Round Robin with an 8-4 win over McAdory on Friday at the city athletic complex.
Jessica Cord picked up the win in the circle, allowing four runs while striking out six in five innings of work.
In addition to Jones, the Lions got some offense from Kaylee Robles, who went 2 for 3 with a triple and a pair of runs scored, Pyper Castro went 1 for 3 with a run scored and an RBI, Magen Baker went 1 for 3 with an RBI, Cord went 1 for 2 with an RBI and Katie Chandler went 1 for 2 with a solo home run and a pair of RBIs.
GIRLS TENNIS
Montgomery Academy 5, Brookstone (Ga.) 4
Down two starters, the Eagles managed a scrappy 5-4 win over Brookstone, winning a pair of double matches and three singles to edge their Georgia opponent on Friday.
In singles, the Eagles played without No. 1 Gabby Barrera, bumping up everyone to a higher seed. Kareena Singh won at No. 3, Clara Ryan won at No. 4 and Marianna Lassner won at No. 5.
In doubles, the No. 1 team of Jenna Chandler and Mae Mae Voltz defeated Ava Chang and Wynn Mayher 7-5, 6-2 for one point and the No. 2 team of Ryan and Cate Peeples, filling in for Barrera, beat Lilly Ray Hinton and Susan Middlebrooks 6-1, 6-2 for the win.
Montgomery Academy (12-2) now prepares for postseason play, playing in the 6A section tournament at O’Connor Tennis Center on Wednesday.
Alabama Christian Academy 6, Brewbaker Tech 3
The Rams dropped Friday’s match to Alabama Christian on Friday, but picked up a pair of singles matches and a victory in doubles.
In singles, Ellen Smith won at No. 1 singles and Ashley Tiblier won at No. 3 singles, while Tiblier teamed with Lizzie Thomas to win at No. 2 doubles. Trinity 11-2, Catholic 1-0
Ben Easterling allowed one run on seven hits while striking out three in a complete-game performance as Trinity clinched a playoff berth with an 11-1 win over Catholic on Friday in a game at Whittle-Armstrong Field shortened to six innings by the mercy rule.
Fleming Hall pitched a one-hit shutout in the second game of the doubleheader to complete the series sweep of the Knights.
Trinity improved to 4-0 in 3A Area 6 play and will play Prattville Christian (3-1) for the area title next Thursday and Friday. The winner will host the first round of the 3A state playoffs on April 22, likely against the loser of next week’s series between Houston Academy and Providence Christian.
Grayson Ashe went 3 for 3 with an RBI, Simmons Byrd went 2 for 5 with a pair of runs scored and an RBI, Easterling went 1 for 3 with an RBI, David Michael Lieux went 1 for 4 with a double and a pair of RBIs and Hall went 1 for 2 with a run scored and an RBI in the first game on Friday.
Alex Wieser and Alex Fleet each went 2 for 3 to lead the Knights.
In the second game, which only counts as a tiebreaker in the area standings, Hall walked two and struck out five in seven innings. Easterling went 1 for 3 with a double, Ashe went 1 for 3 and Brady Rascoll went 1 for 3 with a run scored.
Caleb McCreary had the lone hit for the Knights.
BOYS SOCCER
Trinity 3, St. James 0
Jackson Champion scored a pair of goals and Kip Brown added another as the Wildcats shutout the Trojans 3-0 on Friday at Carlisle Field.
Champion and Louden Wilson had assists for Trinity (11-2).
Catholic 6, New Brockton 2
NEW BROCKTON -- Will Belstering had three goals and Sam Rogers had three assists to lead the Knights to a 6-2 region win over New Brockton on Friday night.
Rogers, Matt Russo and Ben Chitlik each added a goal, while Will Noell, Joe Reeves and Todd Bonnell each added an assist.
Goalkeeper Zach Izer had five saves, including a penalty kick.
Catholic returns home to play Houston Academy on Tuesday.
Prattville Christian 11, Thomasville 1
THOMASVILLE -- Trey Barkley led the Panthers with three goals and an assist as PCA (4-4-1) improved to 2-0 in region play with an 11-1 rout at Thomasville.
Cohen Palmore added two goals and two assists, while Liam Taylor had a goal and two assists. Cade Segars and Brady Roberson each had one goal and an assist. Kyle Zerkel and Chase Gay each scored a goal.
Montgomery Academy 10, Alabama Christian 0
Will Beringer, Clisby Berry, Will Ashworth, Ruston Bassett, Lukas Yi, Will Ray and Alex Kohn were recognized on Senior Night Thursday along with the seniors of other spring sports before the Eagles went out and crushed ACA 10-0 at McLemore Field.
Early in the game, Basset put the first ball in the net before Braxton Welch assisted the next two, passing to Kohn and Basset for a 3-0 lead. Berry played a long ball to Kohn that beat the goalkeeper for Kohn’s second goal. Basset scored his third goal after Will Ray's pass and added a penalty kick late in the first half.
In the second half, Lucas Yi passed to Basset for his fifth goal of the night. Lucas Yi’s second assist to Kohn resulted in Kohn’s third goal of the night. Carson Springer played a beautiful cross to Kohn for a 9-0 lead.
The reserves played the remainder of the game, with Will Ashworth crossing the ball to Holt Speir, who scored his first varsity goal.
Montgomery Academy (17-0-2) returns to action on Tuesday with a home match against St. James at 7 p.m., followed by a Thursday game with BTW Magnet.
GIRLS SOCCER
St. James 2, Trinity 2
Two of the area’s best soccer teams met on Friday at Carlyle Field and battled to a 2-2 draw.
Katie Brightwell scored both goals for the Trojans, with Rylee Richardson and Hope McCain each providing an assist.
For Trinity, Mary Alice Sasser scored a goal with an assist by Ansley Claire Addison and Addison scored a goal with an assist by Katherine Warren.
Goalkeeper Kaylee Peevy had eight saves to preserve the tie.
St. James (10-1-1) will travel to McLemore Field to play Montgomery Academy on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.