SPRING SIGNINGS: ACA's Ingram stays close to home; MA's Miller signs to play soccer

With ACA coach Chris Goodman (left) and her father Bret Ingram (right) looking on, Haley Ingram signed a scholarship to play at Faulkner University. (Tim Gayle)

By TIM GAYLE

When Alabama Christian Academy softball coach Chris Goodman stepped to the podium on Wednesday, he struggled to find the right words to describe center fielder Haley Ingram.

He called her a “five-tool player” and put her at the top of his all-time list of center fielders in the program, but he knew those words didn’t justify the dependable play of a quiet leader who overcame injuries and personal tragedy to lead her team to a 2019 state championship and earn a scholarship offer to play softball at Faulkner University.

Ingram follows the path blazed by her father Bret, an ACA baseball player in the late 1980s who went on to play baseball for the Eagles. 

“I’m a graduate of ACA and Faulkner, so she’s kind of following in my footsteps,” Bret Ingram said. “It’s a great day for her. Her hard work has definitely paid off.”

Haley admitted she knew little about Faulkner -- she’s focused on her Eagles right now -- but called it “an honor to follow in his footsteps.”

Ingram played in a handful of games as an eighth grader in 2017 before emerging as a star on a championship contender in 2018, hitting .386 with 44 RBIs that season. As a sophomore, she had nearly identical numbers in a state championship season -- finishing with 58 hits, just six fewer than her freshman season -- despite the obvious distractions caused by the death of her mother.

The past two years, which included a 2020 season cut short by coronavirus, she has batted .513 with 11 doubles and 16 RBIs. Her career numbers include a batting average of .415 with six home runs, 31 doubles and 82 RBIs.

“I wanted to quit here and there but I never gave up and stuck with it my whole life,” Ingram said. “I just gave it my all.”

Stewart Miller of Montgomery Academy signs to play soccer at The University of the South. (Luke Lucas)

MA’s Miller signs soccer scholarship

Montgomery Academy senior soccer player Stewart Miller held a signing ceremony on Wednesday in the school gym to celebrate his offer from The University of the South. The Sewanee Tigers are an NCAA Division III program and extended an offer to Miller to play soccer for the Tigers.