SPRING ROUNDUP: Macon East softball finishes fourth in Tennessee tourney; Trinity baseball continues roll

COMBINED REPORTS

KINGSPORT, Tenn. -- The Macon East Academy softball team rolled into the championship bracket of the 24th Eastman Invitational on Sunday with a pair of wins before running out of gas and settling for fourth place in the 32-team tournament.

The Knights (36-13) defeated Unicoi County to earn the right to play in the eight-team championship bracket, then defeated Science Hill for the best Eastman Invitational finish in the school’s history.

Macon East would lose to Daniel Boone in the semifinals and bow out of the third-place game to Tennessee High, but bettered the fifth-place finish by the 2013 Knights.

The original format called for the 32 teams to play in six pools, with the top 16 advancing to a single-elimination game on Saturday night for the right to play in the championship bracket on Sunday.

Macon East won its pool and advanced to the Round of 16 as the third overall seed in the tournament, but was forced to wait until Sunday morning to play Unicoi.

In the 7-3 win over the Blue Devils, Breann Morrison and Taylor McKinney each had three hits as part of a 12-hit attack and Devyn Debardelaben drove in a pair of runs to help the Knights rally from a 3-1 deficit with four runs in the third and two more in the fourth.

McKinney pitched a complete game, striking out seven and allowing just four hits in five innings of work.

The win advanced Macon East to the quarterfinals where the Knights would face Science Hill, a team they defeated 8-4 on Thursday. In Sunday’s 10-2 win, Macon East scored four runs in both the second and fourth innings as part of a 13-hit attack that featured three hits each from Morrison, Georgia Blaze and McKinney.

McKinney pitched four innings, striking out five, while Kadence Ward pitched the other two innings in the game halted after six innings by time constraints.

In the semifinals, Daniel Boone handed Macon East a 7-2 setback on the way to the championship game, where they lost to Dobyns-Bennett 6-5. Daniel Boone, from nearby Gray, Tenn., finished in the top five of the tournament for the sixth time in the last eight tournaments.

In the third-place game, the Tennessee Vikings of Bristol, Tenn., handed the Knights a 12-1 loss after the game was halted in the sixth inning by the mercy rule. McKinney had three of the Knights’ six hits. Kylee Smith pitched a complete game, allowing 14 hits while striking out four. 

Macon East opened play in the Eastman Invitational with a win over Science Hill and a 12-2 loss to Daniel Boone before starting pool play on Friday.  

Macon East opened pool play in the tournament against Crockett and won a five-inning contest 6-1 with six runs in the fourth inning to erase a 1-0 deficit. Smith had a pair of hits in the win and McKinney drove in a pair of runs. McKinney picked up the win in the circle, striking out five in five innings of work.

The Knights then stepped out of pool play to defeat Volunteer 11-3. Macon watched a 4-0 lead get trimmed to a run, then scored seven runs in the fifth to secure the victory. Debardelaben had three hits and two RBIs and McKinney had three hits. Smith picked up the win in the circle, striking out seven in a complete-game performance.

Macon East returned to pool play with a late Friday night win over Morristown West, 3-0. McKinney struck out seven in six innings of work while Debardelaben, Ward and Anna Dickson Beck all drove in runs in the victory.

On Saturday, Macon East completed pool play with wins over Chuckey-Doak and Unaka. In the 4-1 win over Chuckey-Doak, Smith pitched a two-hitter, striking out five in seven innings of work. Macon East scored three runs in the first to take control of the game as Debardelaben had three hits and Blaze drove in a pair of runs.

In the afternoon, Macon East defeated Unaka 7-4 in a six-inning game, rallying from a 4-0 deficit with seven runs in the top of the sixth. Morrison had three hits, Hannah Parker had a pair of hits and drove in a pair of runs and Smith had a pair of hits. McKinney pitched a complete game, striking out seven and allowing just four hits.

Four of the first five teams Macon faced in the tournament -- Science Hill, Daniel Boone, Crockett and Morristown West -- advanced to the Round of 16.

BOYS TENNIS

Trinity 8, Houston Academy 1

Trinity won five of its six matches in singles and swept the doubles competition to defeat Houston Academy on Senior Day in a tennis match at Lagoon Park on Thursday.

Seniors Matthew Satcher, Luke Franklin and Thomas Treadwell were honored prior to the match.

In singles competition, No. 1 Treadwell defeated Mitchell Piedra, No. 2 Timothy Hornsby defeated Andrew Ayodeji, No. 3 Franklin retired sick against Brody Williams, No. 4 Samuel Treadwell defeated Jason Mun, No. 5 James Treadwell defeated Wills McRae and No. 6 Parker Ensminger defeated Thomas Buntin. 

In doubles competition, Thomas Treadwell and Hornsby beat No. 1 Piedra-Ayodeji, Samuel Treadwell and James Treadwell beat No. 2 Williams-Mun and Franklin and Satcher beat No. 3 McRae-Buntin.

The Wildcats return to action on Tuesday in 6A Section 2 competition to advance to state. 

Montgomery Academy 5, Brookstone School 0

COLUMBUS, Ga. -- Montgomery Academy swept Brookstone in competition on Wednesday.

Hamilton Chapman, Whit Davis and Easton Strickler swept singles matches while the doubles teams of Guy Hughes-Gaines Freeman and John Alford-Jackson Brown swept the doubles matches. 

Montgomery Academy (12-4) will travel to north Alabama this weekend to play Muscle Shoals and Florence before returning home to play in the sectionals on Tuesday.

GIRLS SOCCER

St. James 8, Alabama Christian 2

Ava Card and Katie Brightwell each had three goals to lead the Trojans to an easy 8-2 win over area rival Alabama Christian at ACA on Thursday night.

Mary Grace Hixon and Hope McCain each added a goal, while McKenzie Turner recorded three assists.

St. James (10-3) travels to Montgomery Academy for a big area match on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.

“We started slow tonight and conceded an early goal but the response was immediate to take control of the game and pull away,” St. James coach Charlie Brightwell said. “We had some excellent moments throughout the game but failed to play with the consistency that we expect.”

BOYS SOCCER

Trinity 10, Goshen 0

Six players scored goals as the Wildcats shut out Goshen 10-0 on Thursday at Ragsdale-Boykin Field.

Jake Hufham, Beck Tuley, Mac Davis and Will Owen each scored a pair of goals for the Wildcats, while Norris Pemberton and Jon Everette Dennis added a goal each. 

Assists were made by Davis, Jackson Windham, Jackson Champion, Chappell Hill, Tuley, Pemberton, Hufham and Owen.

SOFTBALL

Trinity 18, Montgomery Academy 3 (3)

Trinity’s softball team coasted to an easy 18-3 win over Montgomery Academy on Thursday afternoon in a game at Trinity that was halted after three innings by the mercy rule.

Emma Rose Meldrum went 3 for 4, scored twice and drove in a run to lead the Wildcat offense. Lily Windham went 2 for 2, scored twice and drove in a pair of runs. 

Linda Hill and Lily Yancey combined on a three hitter, striking out seven Eagle batters, as Montgomery Academy (0-2) played just its second game since restoring its softball program.

The two teams are scheduled to play each other again on Friday, this time at Montgomery Academy at 4 p.m.

Prattville Christian 9, Marbury 0

PRATTVILLE -- Landyn McAnnally pitched a complete game no hitter with 10 strikeouts to lead the Panthers past Marbury on Thursday.. 

Arielle Williams and Chloe Hollon each hit grand slams to lead the PCA offense. Jersee Carter went 2 for 4 with three stolen bases, while Payson Hanson went 2 for 3.

PCA (17-6) travels to Montgomery on Tuesday to face Catholic in an area game at 4 p.m.

BASEBALL

Alabama Christian 9, Reeltown 7

REELTOWN -- Zac Westbrook went 1 for 3 and drove in a run while picking up the save on the mound by striking out two of the three batters he faced as the Eagles held on for a 9-7 win over the Rebels on Wednesday.

Isaac Warrick went 1 for 4 and drove in a pair of runs, Brandon Bice went 1 for 3 and drove in a run and Jalen Clark went 1 for 2 with an RBI to lead the ACA offense.

JT Moorer picked up the win for the Eagles, pitching 4.2 innings and allowing three earned runs on three hits while striking out four. Hayes Hunt pitched 1.1 innings in relief, allowing two earned runs, before Westbrook came on to pitch the seventh.  

Trinity 7, Catholic 3

Ben Easterling allowed just two hits while striking out six as Trinity posted its fifth consecutive win with a 7-3 victory over Catholic at Jason Armstrong Field on Friday afternoon.

The Wildcats improved to 3-0 in 3A Area 6 play, a game ahead of the Knights (2-1), while Prattville Christian (0-2) and Montgomery Academy (0-2) remain winless in area play.

Trinity and Catholic will resume the three-game series with a doubleheader at Catholic scheduled to start at noon on Monday.

Easterling also drove in a pair of runs at the plate for the Wildcats, going 1 for 2. William Roberson and Parker Hughes each went 2 for 3, while Coleman Ellis also went 2 for 3 and drove in a run. Walton Cherry went 2 for 2 and drove in a run as well.