FRIDAY PREPS: St. James baseball earns area win over MA; Trinity girls soccer tops PCA
Charlie Cutler is congratulated by coach Keith Lucky after a home run in St. James’ win on Friday. (Tim Gayle)
COMBINED REEPORTS
After taking a 10-5 victory over Montgomery Academy at home on Thursday, St. James coach Keith Lucky knew his team would be facing a tough challenge from the Eagles at Bowman Field on Friday.
The Trojans handled the challenge as Tabor Offord scattered four hits and Charlie Cutler blasted his fourth home run of the year in a 13-1 victory over the Eagles on Friday afternoon.
The win allowed the Trojans (13-6) to remain in first place in the 3A Area 5 standings at 2-0, along with Prattville Christian. Montgomery Academy (11-5) fell to 0-2 in the area race, tied with Alabama Christian.
“We’re thrilled with this,” Lucky said. “I know MA just came off a 10-game win streak and ever since they got their basketball players back (from the playoffs) on the baseball team, they’ve been playing very good baseball. So we knew we had our hands full.”
The Trojans picked up a run in the first inning as Mason Craig and Cutler hit back-to-back doubles. In the third inning, with two runners on, Cutler blasted an 0-2 pitch from Montgomery Academy reliever Vincent Desautels over the left field fence for a 4-0 lead.
“I missed the second pitch,” Cutler said. “I was looking for the curveball because he’s been throwing it and he’s been throwing it good. But he missed his spot, you could tell. He threw a fastball down the middle of the plate, which is not the best thing to do. I just turned on it. I was trying to barrel it up because I knew the wind was taking it out. It went and it’s what we needed. We needed a good little hit there.”
That was all Offord needed. He had a runner in scoring position in every inning, but managed to pitch out of bases-loaded jams in the fourth and sixth innings, only giving up a run in the fifth.
“When you’ve got pitchers who go out and do what Tabor did today and Charlie did yesterday, we’ve got a chance to win,” Lucky said. “That MA team is a good team. We just took advantage of some things that happened and got a good pitching performance and we hit the ball fairly well.”
Montgomery Academy scored its only run in the fifth when William Marks led off with a double, stole third and scored on Reid McBride’s groundout. The other three hits -- by Oscar Fiore, Desautels and Finley Haigler -- were all singles. Offord allowed one run on four hits in six innings while walking four and striking out 12.
“That’s what we’ve talked about all year long, that you’re going to have some adversity here and there and you’re going to have to fight through it,” Lucky said. “Neither (Cutler on Thursday nor Offord on Friday) was as sharp as I’ve seen them, but even when they’re not sharp they’re still good if they battle.”
Cutler went 2 for 3 with four RBIs, while Benton Offord went 2 for 4 with three RBIs. Montgomery Academy also helped the Trojans with three errors that allowed nine unearned runs to score.
Fiore started and pitched two-plus innings, allowing three runs, two earned, on three hits, walking one and striking out two. Desautels pitched 3.1 innings, allowing seven runs, two earned, walking two and striking out two. Jarrett Friendly pitched the final 0.2 innings, allowing three runs, none earned, on two hits.
“MA’s a good team, they always are,” Cutler said. “We just needed to stay clean. The pitchers pitched good. Everybody in our region is good, we just have to stay healthy, keep pitching and keep hitting the ball. Our hitters are starting to hit at the right time.”
Montgomery Academy snapped a four-game losing streak by beating the Trojans in the second game of the doubleheader 12-11 in 12 innings. The final game of the series serves only as a tiebreaker should the two teams finish tied in the area standings. The Eagles will travel to Jemison on Monday.
Desautels delivered the walk-off single in the bottom of the 12th inning for Montgomery Academy. McBride had four hits and Desautels had three hits and four RBIs. Hays Marks, William Marks, Paxton Haigler and Fiore each had two hits. Andrew Hosein pitched the first 4.1 innings, allowing eight hits and seven runs, six earned, while striking out one. Chapman Baker came in relief and pitched 3.2 innings, allowing seven hits and four earned runs while striking out three. Eighth grader Finley Haigler pitched the final four innings of shutout ball, giving up just three hits.
St. James, which had a three-game winning streak snapped in the extra-inning loss, will face Julian on Monday at East Montgomery League’s Pete Lee Field at 5 p.m.
Lee-Scott Academy 13, Dadeville 1
AUBURN -- Barrett Cook pitched a three hitter, allowing just one run while striking out eight and walking none in the Warriors’ 13-1 win over Dadeville on Friday.
Lee-Scott improved to 4-0 in 3A Area 6 play, ahead of next week’s area series with Glenwood (2-0). Dadeville dropped to 0-4 behind Beulah (0-2).
Easton Gregory went 2 for 3 with a double, scored twice and had four RBIs for Lee-Scott. Sam Jackson went 1 for 1 with a double and two RBIs and Smith Harkins went 2 for 2, scored twice and drove in a run.
Jacob Patterson scored Dadeville’s only run on a solo home run in the second inning.
Lee-Scott Academy 10, Dadeville 5
AUBURN -- Sam Jackson, Barrett Cook and Haiden Harper all had two RBIs as the Warriors won the third game of the 3A Area 6 series with Dadeville 10-5 on Friday.
The third game only counts as a tiebreaker in the area standings should the two teams finish the regular season tied in the standings.
Hudson Smith went 1 for 3 with two RBIs as Dadeville jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first inning before the Warriors rallied with a run in the bottom of the first, four in the second and five in the third.
Harper went 2 for 2 with a double, Jackson went 1 for 2 with a double and Cook went 1 for 3.
Harrison Short picked up the win in relief, allowing just one hit in 3.1 innings while striking out five.
Lee-Scott Academy 17, Dadeville 6
DADEVILLE -- Barrett Cook, Tyler Jones and Max Hammer all had three RBIs as the Warriors defeated Dadeville 17-6 in a Class 3A Area 6 game on Thursday.
Lee-Scott improved to 3-0 in area play with the win, while Dadeville dropped to 0-3.
Cook went 2 for 4 with a double, Jones went 1 for 3 with a double and Hammer went 2 for 4 with a double to lead Lee-Scott. Easton Gregory went 2 for 3 and drove in a pair of runs and Haiden Harper went 2 for 5 with a triple, scored three times and had an RBI.
Cameron Heard went 2 for 4 to lead Dadeville. Hudson Smith went 1 for 3 with two RBIs.
BOYS SOCCER
Montgomery Academy 12, JAG 0
The Eagles celebrated Senior Night with a 12-0 win over JAG at McLemore Field on Friday night to remain undefeated in Class 7A Area 3 play.
Tanner Bartgis scored four goals and Brewer Welch and Cade Segars added two goals each as the Eagles improved to 6-0 in area play with the rout of the Jaguars.
Bartgis scored the game’s first two goals with assists from Welch. Jacob Stubblefield scored a goal with an assist by Segars, followed by another goal by Tanner Stubblefield. After Segars and Bartgis scored goals, Welch scored on a penalty kick, followed by goals by Hayes Lachney, Ethan Yi (with an assist by Segars), Bartgis, Welch and Segars, with an assist by Hampton Welch.
Montgomery Academy (12-1-1) will play host to Prattville on Tuesday.
GIRLS SOCCER
St. James 7, LAMP 1
Eighth grader Molly Phillips recorded her first career hat trick with three goals and also assisted on the Trojans’ first goal to help St. James to a 7-1 victory over the Golden Tigers at Carlisle Field on Friday night.
Gracie Russell, Natalie Barton, KK Corley and Sana Shuford scored one goal each, while Corley had two assists and Elliette Barton, Stella Williams and Natalie Barton each providing one assist each.
Shuford was honored on Senior Night and recognized for all her hard work over her six-year career.
St. James (6-1) improved to 3-0 in 4A Area 3 play. The Trojans travel to Catholic for another area game on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
Trinity 5, Prattville Christian 1
Aiden Williams scored the Panthers’ lone goal in a 5-1 loss to Trinity at Ragsdale-Boykin Field on Friday.
Addison Sutton assisted Williams on the goal.
PCA (4-5-1) will travel to Charles Henderson on Monday.
Montgomery Academy 12, JAG 0
The Eagles delivered a dominating performance on Senior Night at McLemore Field, defeating JAG 12-0 on Friday to improve to 4-0 in 7A Area 3 play.
A relentless attacking display saw multiple players find the scoresheet with Kerstin Daniels, Sophia Cho, Halle Rogers, Caroline Waller, Mary Elizabeth Cole and Arden Horne all contributing goals. The Eagles controlled possession from the start, demonstrating sharp passing, clinical finishing and strong defensive organization to secure the comprehensive win.
Cho scored four goals, while Daniels, Rogers and Cole each contributed two goals.
Montgomery Academy (9-2) will travel to Pike Road for a Monday game at 5:30 p.m.
SOFTBALL
Tuscaloosa County 11, Pike Road 3
Pike Road dropped its first game in the fifth annual FCA Alex Wilcox Memorial Softball Tournament on Friday at Lagoon Park after committing seven errors in an 11-3 loss to Tuscaloosa County.
Anna Williams took the loss for the Patriots in the circle, striking out two and walking two in six innings of work.
Addison Belyeu had a single and a triple with two RBIs, while Williams, Mary Hayden Hargrove and Kelsey Williams all had singles. Kennedy Thompson had a sacrifice fly.
The Class 7A Wildcats cooled off the Patriot bats, which entered the tournament on a high note. Over the last three games, Belyeu is 7 for 10 with a double, three triples and a home run, Williams is 5 for 10 with 4 RBIs, Ameria Anderson is 4 for 9 and Kelsi Williams is 3 for 6.
Pike Road returns to action in the tournament on Saturday against Mary Montgomery at 9 a.m., followed by back-to-back games against Alabama Christian and Prattville Christian in the afternoon.