PREP UPDATE: St. James, Catholic baseball win key area tilts; Strength signs volleyball scholarship

COMBINED REPORTS

BASEBALL

St. James 6, Prattville Christian 5

PRATTVILLE -- St. James scored two runs in the first inning and two more in the second, then held off a furious Prattville Christian rally in the seventh inning for a 6-5 victory over the Panthers on Wednesday at Prattville Christian Academy.

St. James (16-9) and Prattville Christian are tied atop the area standings at 4-1. The two teams will meet again for a doubleheader at St. James on Friday at 4 p.m., but only the first game has any meaning. The winner will be the 3A Area 6 champion, while the loser will be the runner-up.

Carter Carroll’s bunt scored Ethan Beard with the game’s first run in the top of the first and the Trojans added another run in the first and two in the second for a 4-0 lead before PCA answered with two runs in the bottom half of the second.

St. James reestablished its four-run lead in the fifth inning but had to hold off the Panthers, who scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh with the help of RBIs from Cody Baker and Parker Blake.

Beard, Clint Houser and Clint Shores accounted for six of the Trojans’ eight hits. Carroll picked up the win, allowing five hits and five runs over seven innings while striking out four.  

Catholic 6, LAMP 5 (8)

Jayden Phifer’s single in the bottom of the eighth inning drove in the game-winning run, clinching a playoff berth for the Knights in a 6-5 win over LAMP on Wednesday afternoon.

Catholic (19-8) improved to 6-1 in the 4A Area 4 race, tied with Trinity. LAMP dropped to 4-3 in area play and was eliminated from playoff consideration. A Catholic victory on Friday at 5 p.m. at LAMP in the first game of a doubleheader would give the Knights the area championship.

Catholic scored three runs in the second inning for a 3-0 lead, but the Golden Tigers responded with a run in the third and two more in the fifth to tie the game. Catholic went back in front with two runs in the bottom of the fifth but LAMP countered with two in the sixth to tie the game once again.

Josh Palmer started for the Knights, allowing five runs, one earned, on five hits in 6.1 innings while striking out eight and walking eight. Alex Fleet picked up the win, allowing just one hit over the final 1.2 innings, walking one and striking out one.

Fleet went 2 for 4 at the plate, scoring a run and driving in another, while Palmer went 2 for 4 with an RBI.

Josh Donaldson started for LAMP, allowing six hits and five runs in six innings while striking out six. Luke Littlejohn took the loss, throwing 1.2 innings and allowing the game-winning run.

Josh Bell went 2-for-4 at the plate to lead the Golden Tigers at the plate.

Trinity 17, Booker T. Washington 0 (5)

TUSKEGEE -- The defending 3A state champions clinched a berth in the 4A state playoffs on Wednesday with a 17-0 win over Booker T. Washington in a 4A Area 4 game limited by the mercy rule.

Trinity (16-11) improved to 6-1 in area play and can clinch the area title with a win over the Golden Eagles on Friday at home, coupled with a LAMP victory over Catholic on Friday. Both Trinity and Catholic are 6-1 in area play and Catholic owns the tiebreaker between the two teams.

Brady Bennett had three hits and four RBIs, Wilson Albrecht had two hits and five RBIs, D.M. Lieux had two hits and Fleming Hall had three RBIs.

The Wildcats held Booker T. Washington without a hit on Wednesday. D.M. Lieux picked up the win, throwing four of the five innings and striking out seven.  

SOFTBALL

St. James 14, Trinity 2 (5)

The Trojans broke open a 5-2 game with nine runs in the fourth inning to defeat Trinity in a 3A Area 6 game at St. James on Wednesday.

Sydney Johnston went 4 for 4 with a triple, scored twice and drove in four runs to lead a 10-hit attack that limited the game to five innings by the mercy rule. Emily Needham went 2 for 3 with a pair of doubles, scoring a run and driving in two more to help her cause in the circle.

Tat Shuford went 1 for 2 with a solo home run and scored three times.

Needham pitched the first three innings, holding the Wildcats to two runs on two hits while walking one and striking out four. Emerson Hagen pitched the final two innings, striking out four of the six batters she faced.

For Trinity, Ava Milton went 1 for 2 and scored a run and Lillian Yancey went 1 for 2 and drove in a run.

Marley Sharpless took the loss, allowing eight hits and nine runs, five earned, in 3.1 innings while walking two and striking out one. Milton pitched the remaining two-thirds of an inning, giving up a pair of hits and five runs with five walks and a strikeout.

Prattville Christian 16, Alabama Christian 3

Laura Beth NeSmith scattered four hits and struck out 10 as the Panthers pulled away late in a 16-3 win at Alabama Christian Academy on Wednesday.

The Panthers led just 3-1 heading into the fifth inning, but scored 13 runs over the final three innings and ended the game with 17 hits. Chloe Hollon had three hits, including a triple and a home run, finishing with three RBIs. Payson Hanson had three hits and three RBIs as well, while Saniyah Weaver went 3for 5 with a triple and an RBI. Jenna McClendon had a pair of hits, including a two-run home run, and Brinkley Sailors and Sara Payton Schmidt had two hits each. Sarah Williams added a solo home run.  

PCA (18-7) will travel to Spanish Fort this weekend to face some very strong competition in the Berry Strong Tournament, playing Robertsdale and Fairhope on Friday, then Orange Beach and Baldwin County on Saturday.

Prattville 13, Jeff Davis 0 (5)

PRATTVILLE -- Sarah Grace Jones put on a show in the Lions’ area win over Jeff Davis, allowing just one hit in the circle while driving in six runs at the plate for a 13-0 win in a Wednesday game limited to five innings by the mercy rule.

Jones pitched a complete game, allowing just one hit while striking out nine. At the plate, she was 3 for 3, including a two-run home run in the second inning and a grand slam in the third for her sixth home run of the season.

Kaylee Robles went 1 for 2 with a triple, two runs scored and an RBI, Maddie Putteet went 1 for 1 with a double and an RBI and Laci Jackson went 1 for 3 with a double and two RBIs.

Prattville (17-17) improved to 6-1 in 7A Area 3 play with its final area game on Tuesday at Dothan at 4:30 p.m. Enterprise is also 6-1 with a game remaining with Jeff Davis, followed by Dothan (4-3), Jeff Davis (2-5) and Robert E. Lee (0-8).

BOYS SOCCER

Catholic 8, BTW Magnet 0 

Gabe Russo and Todd Bonnell each had three goals as the Knights rebounded from a loss to Enterprise with an 8-0 rout at BTW Magnet in a 4A Area 2 game on Wednesday.

Catholic (11-5) improved to 8-2 in area play and can wrap up a berth in the state playoffs with a win over LAMP at home next Tuesday.

Max Barranco and Will Belsterling added goals for the Knights. Matt Russo assisted on a pair of goals, with other assists coming from Bonnell, Gabe Russo, Tony Lemuz, Barranco and Joey Rodriguez.

BOYS TENNIS

Trinity 7, St. James 2

Trinity wrapped up the regular season with a 7-2 win over St. James on Tuesday. The doubles team of brothers Samuel and James Treadwell finished the season undefeated after only losing one match in 2022. James Treadwell remains undefeated in regular season singles play for the fourth consecutive season. The Wildcats celebrated Senior Day at this match, recognizing Timothy Hornsby, Hudson Cornett and Russell Powell.

In singles play, Trinity’s Timothy Hornsby edged Toba Rios (5-7 , 6-4 , 1-0) at No. 1, Samuel Treadwell beat Josh Harvey at No. 2; James Treadwell defeated Danny Trock at No. 3 and Charlie Franklin defeated Grayson Eaves at No. 6.

The Trojans won a pair of singles matches, with Ryan Jeong beating Hudson Cornett at No. 4 and Jason Jeong beating Trevor Wilson at No. 5.

The Wildcats swept the doubles matches, with Samuel and James Treadwell beating Rios-Harvey at No. 1, Hornsby-Cornett beating Ryan Jeong and Trock at No. 2 and Wilson and Grant Speagle beating Jason Jeong and Eaves at No. 3.

Trinity travels to Millbrook to play in the 6A Section 2 tournament at 17 Springs next week.

GIRLS TENNIS

Montgomery Academy 9, Opelika 0

Montgomery Academy 9, Smiths Station 0

With the Eagles running out of days to complete their 7A Section 2 schedule, they doubled up on opponents on Wednesday, defeating Opelika 9-0 in an early-afternoon match, then beating Smiths Station 9-0 later in the afternoon at MA’s McLemore Tennis Center.

Montgomery Academy concluded the season at 14-3, losing to Mountain Brook, Vestavia Hills and Auburn. The Eagles open play in the 7A Section 2 tournament on Monday at O’Connor Tennis Center.

TRACK AND FIELD

MA boys, girls finish second in final Monday MAdness meet

Montgomery Academy hosted their final home meet of the season Monday with 20 teams in attendance, giving the area’s middle school and high school programs one last opportunity to compete.

The biggest highlight for the Eagles was the performance of high jumper Sarah Elizabeth Casey, who tied the school record at 5 feet, 2 inches.

In the girls’ division, Brewbaker Tech won the 12-event meet with 82 points, followed by Montgomery Academy (78.5), Chilton County (65), Prattville High School (42), Catholic (31.5), Park Crossing (27), Alabama Christian (26) and Elmore County (13).

In the boys’ division, Park Crossing won the 12-event meet with 82 points, followed by Montgomery Academy (72.5), Elmore County (50), Chilton County (48.5), Trinity (36), Prattville (34), Brewbaker Tech (30), Catholic (21), G.W. Carver (20.5) and Alabama Christian (15). 

Edgewood’s Strength signs volleyball scholarship

ELMORE -- Jaylyn Strength became the third Edgewood Academy volleyball player to earn a college scholarship in the sport, signing on Wednesday morning to continue her playing career at Faulkner University.

A fourth, Lindsey Brown, is committed to the University of Alabama and is expected to sign with the Crimson Tide in November.

“Our team is really special,” Strength said. “It’s been special for the past two years I’ve been here. Everybody on our team has so much talent and potential. Our senior class had a lot of that talent on the team but we’ll still have Lindsey and Madison (Martin) still left on the team for future signings.”

Strength had 154 kills, 253 digs and 102 aces this past season in leading the Wildcats to their fourth consecutive Alabama Independent School Association state championship. She was recruited to Faulkner as a defensive specialist.

“For the past two years, she has been a joy to work with and I’m so excited to see how far she has come in such amount of time,” Edgewood Academy coach David DeLozier said. “While we are sad to see her go, Jaylyn has excelled as a player and a person at the school and we’re excited to see where she goes from here. The growth that I have witnessed these last two years has been remarkable and Faulkner is getting a great addition to their program.”