PREP RECAP: ACA beats St. James in high-scoring affair
COMBINED REPORTS
BASEBALL
Alabama Christian 18, St. James 16
Zac Westbrook pitched the Eagles into a jam, then saved his team with a walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh as Alabama Christian pulled out a wild 18-16 win over the Trojans at the AUM Baseball Complex on Monday night.
Westbrook went 5 for 5 in the game with a single, three doubles and the home run, driving in six runs as the Eagles took a huge lead, squandered it, then won in dramatic fashion.
Brandon Bice went 3 for 5, scoring twice and driving in a pair of runs, while Preston Perry, Taylor Thornton and Thomas Stovall all had two hits to help ACA to a 16-4 lead after scoring four runs in the first, eight in the second and four more in the third.
St James pounded out 17 hits of their own, battering Perry, the starting pitcher, for 12 hits and six runs, three earned, in four innings of work. Jalen Clark pitched an inning, but walked three batters and was charged with four runs, and Bice pitched an inning, allowing two runs, before Westbrook took the mound for the seventh.
The move backfired as Westbrook surrendered a pair of walks and three hits, including a bases-loaded double by Wilson Carter that cleared the bases and tied the game at 16-16.
Brock Woodham led the Trojans, going 4 for 5 and driving in four runs. Carson Howard and Carter had three RBIs each, while Alex Whisenhunt had three hits and drove in a run.
ACA remains home to play Holtville on Tuesday, while St. James (4-6) returns to area play on Thursday with a game at Pike Road before playing host to the Patriots in a doubleheader on Friday.
Prattville Christian 5, Reeltown 4 (8)
REELTOWN – James Chancey walked and scored in the eighth to break a 4-4 tie and give the Panthers a 5-4 win over the Rebels on Tuesday night.
Benjamin Echols went 1 for 3 with a pair of walks, Reese Starnes went 1 for 3 with an RBI and a pair of walks, Taylor Lowe went 1 for 3 with a pair of walks and Nick Stephenson went 1 for 2 with a pair of walks while scoring twice and driving in a run.
Brooks Byus pitched the first three innings, allowing four runs on four hits while striking out three. Starnes earned the win in relief, surrendering two hits while striking out seven in four-plus innings of work.
Connor Spain went 3 for 3 and drove in a run to lead the Rebels.
SOFTBALL
LAMP 2, Luverne 0
LUVERNE – Caitlyn Russell and Elizabeth Jones waged a seven-inning pitching duel, with Russell supplying a pair of hits to help her Tigers pull out a 2-0 win on Monday.
Russell went the distance in the circle, allowing just a pair of hits while striking out six. At the plate, she had a pair of key hits to put Peyton Cely in scoring position in the first and fifth innings.
Cely doubled down the line in the first inning, went to third on a single by Russell and scored on an error for a 1-0 lead. In the fifth, Cely reached on an infield single, went to second on a single by Russell and scored on a single by Gracey Norris for the game’s other run.
Russell allowed only a single by Destiny Forte and another by Indya Johnson.
Jones surrendered eight hits and a walk while striking out four in seven innings of work.
Alabama Christian 2, Opelika 1
OPELIKA – Haley Ingram and Monica Willingham both homered to lead the Eagles to a hard-fought 2-1 win over 6A Opelika on Monday night.
Rose Constanza went the distance in the circle to pick up the win, allowing just three hits while striking out 11.
ACA returns home to play host to St. James on Tuesday at 4:45 p.m.
Macon East Academy 10, Glenwood School 0
CECIL -- Caroline Capps threw a complete-game shutout, limiting Glenwood to a pair of hits in shutting out the Gators 10-0 on Monday.
Macon East blew open the game with eight runs in the fourth inning, highlighted by singles from Taylor McKinney, Kadence Ward, Emi Lott, Sydney Sullivan and Breann Morrison.
Ward, Lott, Capps and McKinney all had multiple hits for Macon East in the 13-hit attack.
Macon East travels to Dothan on Tuesday to play Northside Methodist before opening play in the annual Macon East Tournament with a game against Hooper Academy on Thursday at 4 p.m. The winner of the Macon-Hooper game will play Crenshaw Christian on Thursday at 6 p.m.
Catholic 17, Brew Tech 7
Carissa Gilbert got her 10th win of the season (10-1), pitching four innings while giving up seven hits and seven runs while striking out four batters. Alanna Aiken pitched one scoreless inning in relief.
At the plate, Aiken went 3 for 4 with a three-run home run, scoring three times and driving in seven runs. Gilbert, Mallory Hildebrand and Katherine O’Conner each had a pair of hits. McKenzie Norton, Chloe Walden and Hannah Parrish each scored three runs.
Catholic (13-1) will play Park Crossing on Tuesday at Lagoon Park Softball Complex at 5 p.m.
Trinity 14, Greenville 8
GREENVILLE – Trinity put together 16 hits and eight walks to defeat the Tigers on Monday night.
Linda Hill picked up the win in the circle for the Wildcats (2-4), throwing 5.2 innings and allowing four runs on eight hits while striking out seven.
Several Wildcats recorded multiple hits, including Mary Kathryn Adcock, Hill and Henlee Gunter. Katherine Lamkin hit a line drive up the middle for her first varsity hit to drive in a run. Lily Windham, Charlee Cone and Lilly Yancey each finished with three hits on the night while Azariya James laid down a bunt in the third inning. Cate Scott Brendle walked three times and made an outstanding catch late in the game to preserve the lead for the Wildcats.
“This was a great chance for our girls to compete after two weeks of rainouts,” first-year Trinity coach Stan Milton said. “We had good pitching from Linda and Charlee and really hit the ball well, especially early in the game.”
The Wildcats will play a junior varsity game with Brew Tech on Tuesday at Edward Thompson Park at 4:30 p.m.
GIRLS TENNIS
Montgomery Academy 9, Brewbaker Tech 0
The Eagles swept singles and doubles matches from Brew Tech on Monday. Winning singles matches were Gabby Barrera, Jenna Chandler, Martha Ernest, McRae Freeman, Kareena Singh and Coleman Speir. The Montgomery Academy doubles teams of Barrera-Chandler, Ernest-Freeman and Speir-Julia Williams also posted wins.
Montgomery Academy (4-1) will take the rest of the week off for spring break, resuming play on March 24 with a home match against St. James.
BOYS TENNIS
Trinity 5, Stone (Miss.) 4
MOBILE – Trinity placed third in the 16-team B Division of the McGill-Toolen Tournament over the weekend with a hard-fought win over Stone High.
A grueling afternoon of play saw Thomas Treadwell win the deciding match to give Trinity a 5-4 win over Stone for a third-place finish. Charlie Franklin helped the team in both No. 6 singles and No. 3 doubles throughout the weekend.
Trinity 5, Fairhope 4
MOBILE -- John Paul Tankersley had an exciting third-set tiebreaker win in No. 6 singles to give the Wildcats a 4-3 win over 7A Fairhope, keeping them unbeaten in the McGill-Toolen Tournament. The Wildcats advanced to the semifinals with the win, where they lost to Ocean Springs (Miss.) and faced Stone (Miss.) in the consolation match.
Trinity 9, South Pontotoc (Miss.) 0
MOBILE – Trinity started play in the McGill-Toolen Tournament with a sweep of South Pontotoc. No. 1 Thomas Treadwell, No. 2 Timothy Hornsby, No. 3 Luke Franklin, No. 4 Samuel Treadwell, No. 5 James Treadwell and No. 6 Parker Ensminger recorded singles wins, along with the doubles teams of Thomas Treadwell-Hornsby at No. 1, James and Samuel Treadwell at No. 2 and Luke Franklin-Matthew Satcher at No. 3.
GIRLS SOCCER
Prattville Christian 4, Wetumpka 1
WETUMPKA -- Avery Rogers scored three goals to lead the Lady Panthers to a 4-1 win over Wetumpka on Monday night. Emily Branch scored the other goal for PCA (4-0), while Ella Pegg had a pair of assists and Peyton Cobb and Elle Tice each had an assist.
In junior varsity action, the Panther boys tied Elmore County 1-1 on Monday at Prattville Christian Academy. Cade Segars scored the Panthers’ goal while Dawson Thweatt had a great game in goal with 12 saves for PCA (1-1-1).