PREP UPDATE: Brew Tech, St. James take area softball tourneys

COMBINED REPORTS

GIRLS SOCCER

St. James 8, Prattville Christian 0

Katie Brightwell scored four goals and assisted on the other two as the Trojans defeated Prattville Christian 8-0 in the first round of the 1A-3A state soccer playoffs at Carlisle Field on Tuesday afternoon.

Brightwell assisted on goals scored by Hope McCain and Natalie Barton. Two others were deflected into the nets by PCA players.

Kendal Wright had two assists for the Trojans, while Hope McCain, Mary Grace Hixon and Sana Shuford each had an assist.

Goalkeeper Katie Irving recorded the shutout in goal.

PCA ends the season at 10-5-1, while St. James (23-1-2) plays host to Tuscaloosa Academy in the 1A-3A quarterfinals on Saturday at 2 p.m., with the winner advancing to the state tournament in Huntsville on May 11-13.

SOFTBALL

Brewbaker Tech 15, Holtville 4 (3 innings)

Brewbaker Tech cruised to the championship of the 5A Area 4 tournament championship with a 15-4 victory over Holtville in the championship game on Tuesday afternoon at Lagoon Park.

The 5A Area 4 champions advanced to the South Regional at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex and will face the Area 2 runner-up, either Faith Academy or St. Paul’s Episcopal, in the opening round of the regional next Thursday at 9 a.m. Holtville also advanced to the regional with its second-place finish.

Gabbie York started the Rams on their way to a 15-4 victory with a leadoff home run, but the Bulldogs responded with four runs, three unearned, in a shaky inning for the Rams’ defense. Brew Tech answered with 14 runs to pull away for the win.

Taniyah Brown ended up going 3-for-4 at the plate with a pair of two-run home runs plus a grand slam, ending her day with seven RBIs.

Gabbie York went 4 for 4 with a home run, four runs scored and two RBIs, while Grace Hunter went 2 for 3 with a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored. Kyra Wallace and Taliah July also went 2 for 3.

Brown went all five innings in the circle to pick up the win, allowing only one earned run with no walks and five strikeouts.

 The Rams put up a similar performance on Monday. In the tournament opener, Brew Tech defeated Greenville 15-0 in a game halted after four innings by the mercy rule.

Kaymarria Bandy went 2 for 2 with a double and two RBIs to lead Brew Tech’s 13-hit attack, while Peyton Garrett went 3 for 3 with a triple and two RBIs, Khamiyah Brown went 2 for 3 with a triple and five RBIs and Taliah July went 2 for 3 with two runs scored. 

Taniyah Brown and Kyra Wallace teamed up to throw a one-hit shutout of the Tigers. Taniyah went three innings, allowing no runs on no hits while walking two and striking out eight. Kyra Wallace threw one inning, allowing only one hit.

Holtville earned a trip to the area final with a win over Charles Henderson on Tuesday.

St. James 10, Alabama Christian 0

St. James won its first softball area tournament since 2010 defeating three Capital City Conference teams by a combined 41-0 score. 
After defeating Montgomery Academy 21-0 and Alabama Christian 10-0 on Monday, the Trojans returned to the field on Tuesday and Emily Needham pitched a no-hitter, just missing a perfect game as St. James defeated Alabama Christian 10-0.
Needham retired the first 13 Eagle batters, seven on strikeouts and three more on pitcher-to-first groundouts. An infield error and a walk were the only obstacles to a potential five-inning perfect game, but Needham gave up no hits and allowed no runs.

Sydney Johnston had two hits, three RBIs and scored two runs, while Emerson Hagen went 3 for 3 with three singles. KK Hall and Emily Darby also had two hits.
St. James will advance to only its second regional tournament since 2015, playing in the Central Regional at Lagoon Park. The Trojans will play Randolph County in the opening round of the double-elimination tournament on Tuesday at 12:45 p.m.
Alabama Christian, which went 2-2 in the area tournament, also qualified for the Central Regional and will face Beulah in the opening round of the tournament on Tuesday at 12:45 p.m.

Prattville Christian 11, Dallas County 1

PRATTVILLE -- Alivia Messick pitched a no-hitter as the Panthers defeated the Hornets 11-1 in a five-inning contest at Prattville Christian on Tuesday.

PCA (28-11) will advance to the Central Regional at Lagoon Park next week and will face Munford in an opening-round game of the double-elimination tournament on Thursday at 10:45 a.m. Dallas County also advances to the regional and will play Handley in an opening-round game on Thursday at 10:45 a.m.

Sarah Williams went 2 for 4 with 2 RBIs, Erin Williams went 2 for 2 with an RBI and Saniyah Weaver added a three-run double as the Panthers defeated Dallas County for the second time in the tournament.

Dallas County advanced to the championship game with a 20-1 defeat of Wilcox Central. 

Prattville Christian 15, Dallas County 0

PRATTVILLE -- Lara Beth Nesmith and Kandice Crosby combined to pitch a perfect game as the Panthers opened play in the 4A Area 5 tournament with a 15-0 win over Dallas County.

Dallas County defeated Wilcox Central 15-0 in the opening round to advance to the finals of the winner’s bracket against Prattville Christian. Dallas County will face Wilcox Central again, while PCA (27-11) will await the winner in the championship game of the area tournament.  

At the plate, PCA was led by Saniyah Weaver, who went 3 for 3 with an RBI, Sarah Williams, who was 2 for 3 with three RBIs and Payson Hanson, who was 2 for 3 with two RBIs.

Erin Williams also went 2 for 3 with an RBI and Peyton Thrash went 2 for 2 with an RBI.