MONDAY PREPS: Brantley boys move on to Birmingham with South regional title; LAMP baseball tops MA
Brantley’s Jayden Parks goes up for a shot against William Spencer of J.F. Shields in the Class 1A South Regional final at Garrett Coliseum on Monday. (Tim Gayle)
COMBINED REPORTS
A double-digit lead had dwindled to a point when Brantley’s Jon Harper Kilcrease rescued the Bulldogs with a crucial 3-pointer.
“There were a couple of nerves there when they started clawing back into it,” Jayden Parks said, “But I always had confidence because we had worked on this. It was never too much.”
Kilcrease’s 3-pointer, with 6:44 left, put the Bulldogs in front 42-38. Kevin Freeman put back a Parks’ miss, Parks added a steal and layup and Kilcrease hit another 3-pointer to put the Bulldogs on the path to a South Regional championship with a 57-49 win over J.F. Shields at Garrett Coliseum on Monday afternoon.
“That was a big shot that Harper made,” Brantley coach Andre Parks said. “We were reeling at that point. We were looking for something. That was the biggest shot of the year. I thought Harper did a good job of having Jayden’s back. Julius Sylvester had 17 rebounds in that game. I thought he had a phenomenal game also.”
Brantley (23-4) will play Hubbertville (25-6) in the Class 1A semifinals at Legacy Arena on Monday at 10:30 a.m.
The Bulldogs shook off a slow start with a strong second quarter and carried a double-digit lead for most of the second and third quarters before the Panthers started chipping away, primarily because of missed shots and missed free-throw attempts.
“We just turned the ball over too much,” Jayden Parks said. “That’s a tough team over there in that locker room and they got a lot of pride and tradition and fight so they were fighting, getting back in the game, and this guy (Kilcrease) hit a big shot to put us back up.”
But if the Panthers’ rally started making Jayden Parks nervous, Killcrease had him beat in that department.
“I was actually nervous before the game,” Kilcrease said. “I came up to him and said, ‘My heart’s pounding,’ which hadn’t happened all season. I guess I should get nervous more often because we ended up winning that game, so I’m pretty happy.”
Brantley won a regular season game against the Panthers with a fast-paced offense, but didn’t have the same advantage this time.
“I thought, this time, they dictated tempo,” Andre Parks said. “The first time we played, we made them play fast. We were able to speed them up, we were able to turn them over. This time, late in the game, they were able to do that to us. I think they dictated the tempo of the game.”
His son said the fourth-quarter offense was a by-product of the Bulldogs’ defense.
“We started rebounding, taking a couple of charges, blocking some shots,” Jayden Parks said. “I think the defensive end really started to get our offense back flowing.
Kilcrease led the Bulldogs with 18 points and nine rebounds, followed by Parks with 16 points and seven assists, Michael Thompson with 11 points and Sylvester with 10 points and 17 rebounds.
Zythan Quarles led J.F. Shields with 16 points, followed by Hakeem Shamburger with 13 and Dante Leffall with 12.
Monday’s matchup marked the third time in recent years the two teams have met in the South Regional finals. In 2013, the Bulldogs won 60-43. In 2010, at the University of South Alabama, the two teams staged a thriller that is usually reserved for Brantley-J.F. Shields’ matchups, with the Panthers winning 83-74 in three overtimes.
“That was a great team,” Kilcrease said. “We played them earlier in the year and it wasn’t really that close. We had a dogfight out there and we were just lucky enough and blessed enough to be able to come out on top.”
Since that loss to Shields in 2010, the Bulldogs have made two trips to the state tournament, losing a 2013 heartbreaker in the finals to St. Jude and a 2022 semifinal loss to Decatur Heritage.
“It’s a goal of ours every year,” Andre Parks said, “but it’s tough to make it. We set it as a goal, just like we do every year and I’m just so proud of the guys for fighting and making it happen.”
BASEBALL
St. James 18, Thorsby 5 (5)
Chase Perry drove in four runs and Luke Catchings had three RBIs to lead the Trojans to a five-inning victory over Thorsby on Monday afternoon.
Tabor Offord and Mason Craig each had two RBIs for the Trojans.
Charlie Cutler got the win, allowing no hits and striking out five in two innings of work.
Saint James (3-0) will play host to LAMP on Thursday.
Macon East Academy 15-4, Coosa Valley Academy 4-2
HARPERSVILLE -- Macon East jumped out to an early lead in the first game, then used the bottom half of the lineup to win a defensive battle in the second game as the Knights swept a doubleheader from the Rebels to open the season on Monday.
In the first game, the Knights jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the top of the first when Patrick Ernest drew a bases-loaded walk, Parker Ruskin and Bryant Grimes had RBI singles and Carter Hopson drove in two runs on a groundout.
Coosa Valley game back in the bottom half of the inning on RBI singles by Brett Hackett and Andrew Weaver and a two-run double by Jay Chapman.
Macon East extended the lead over the next two innings with an RBI double by Jackson Todd in the second and a two-run double by Micah Andrews in the third.
Grimes picked up the win, allowing three runs and four hits in 3.1 innings while striking out nine and walking one. David Demaio, Ernest and Bryant Morrison each threw scoreless innings in relief.
Hopson, Todd and Caden Mobley each had two hits for Macon East.
In the second game, Hopson, Andrews and Conner Wallace combined for four of the Knights’ seven hits in the victory. They scored two runs and drove in one.
Hopson had an RBI double in the second inning and Macon East added a run in the third on an error for a 2-0 lead.
Todd picked up the win for the Knights, allowing three hits and one run over five innings while striking out nine and walking one. Thad McKinney pitched the final two innings for the Knights.
Hopson and McKinney each collected two hits for Macon East, while Hopson and Parker Ruskin each drove in a run.
Macon East (2-0) travels to Elmore on Thursday to play in a tournament at Edgewood Academy.
LAMP 9, Montgomery Academy 3
Montgomery Academy dropped its season opener at Bowman Field on Monday, falling to the Golden Tigers 9-3.
The Eagles were led at the plate by Paxton Haigler who finished 2 for 3 with a single and an RBI triple. John Allen Jones and Finley Haigler each picked up a hit for the Eagles.
Vincent Desautels got the start on the mound for the Eagles, pitching 1.2 innings, surrendering three hits, giving up eight runs, walking four and striking out four.
Andrew Hosein came in relief, pitching 1.1 innings while not giving up a hit or any runs. Hosein walked three and struck out two.
William Marks relieved Hosein on the mound, pitching 3.0 innings, surrendering five hits, a run, walking three and striking out one. Chapman Baker relieved Marks and pitched the final inning, allowing two hits while striking out three.
Montgomery Academy (0-1) will travel to play Julian on Thursday at 5 p.m.
St. James 6, Wetumpka 4
WETUMPKA -- Tabor Offord finished the day at the plate a single away from hitting for the cycle, going 3 for 4 with a double, a triple and a solo home run in a 6-4 victory over the Class 6A Indians on Saturday.
Dawson Knowles had two RBIs for the Trojans.
Luke Catchings got the win on the mound, pitching three innings in relief and allowing one earned run.
SOFTBALL
Macon East Academy 15, Coosa Valley 4
HARPERSVILLE -- Miya Tatum drove in four runs on four hits to lead Macon East Academy to a 15-4 win over Coosa Valley on Monday.
Tatum singled in a run in the second inning, singled in the third inning, driving in three runs, and hit a two-run home run to left field in the fifth inning.
In addition to Tatum’s RBI single in the first, Regan Fraer had an RBI groundout, Avery Kyser singled in a run and Jamya Powell doubled to left field to drive in another run for a quick 4-0 lead.
A single by Tatum gave the Knights a 7-3 lead in the top of the third.
Powell hit a solo homer to center in the fourth and Mattie Pugh drove in a run with a groundout for a 9-3 lead.
Macon East added six more runs in the fifth, highlighted by Tatum’s home run, an RBI double by Kyser and an RBI single by Jadah Powell.
Addison Little picked up the win in the circle, allowing three hits and four runs, one earned, in five innings while striking out seven and walking three.
Macon East (2-0) travels to Elmore on Tuesday to play Edgewood Academy.