THURSDAY PREPS: Cho scores 100th goal in MA girls soccer win; St. James tops MA in area baseball

COMBINED REPORTS

BASEBALL

St. James 10, Montgomery Academy 5

The Trojans took the first game in the 3A Area 5 series with Montgomery Academy, outhitting the Eagles 11-7 to pull off a 10-5 victory at St. James on Thursday.

Seven different Montgomery Academy players had one hit each -- William Marks, Paxton Haigler, Reid McBride, Vincent Desautels, John Allen Jones, Chapman Baker and Kingston Nelson. Haigler, McBride, Desautels and Jones each had an RBI.

McBride got the start on the mound for the Eagles, allowing eight hits and four earned runs in five innings while striking out five. Marks allowed two hits and three earned runs in one-third of an inning of relief, while Jarrett Friendly pitched the final two-thirds of an inning, giving up one hit while striking out one batter.

Montgomery Academy (10-4) dropped to 0-1 in area play, while St. James (12-5) improved to 1-0.

The series now moves to Montgomery Academy for the final two games on Friday. The first game of the doubleheader starts at 4 p.m.

SOFTBALL
Trinity 17, Montgomery Academy 2

Micaiah Shelton drove in four runs on three hits to lead Trinity past Montgomery Academy 17-2 in the 3A Area 5 opener for the Wildcats on Thursday at Montgomery Academy.

Shelton hit a home run to left field in the first inning scoring two runs, and singled in the fourth, scoring one.

In the third inning, the Wildcats scored eight runs on six hits. Kate Knight, Madi Milton and Mae Mae Milton singled, scoring one run each. Marley Sharpless singled, scoring two runs in the inning.

The Wildcats added six runs on four hits in the fourth inning. Olivia Caraway scored on a sacrifice fly, Emma Rose Meldrum doubled in two runs and Evie Knight singled in a run.

The Lady Wildcats amassed 13 hits in the game with Kate Knight and Harper Johnson collecting multiple hits. Defensively, Trinity turned three double plays in the game.

Madi Milton earned the win in the circle, giving up three hits and no earned runs over four innings, striking out four and walking two.

Trinity (4-6) will play Pike Liberal Arts on Friday at 3p.m. in its opening game of the fifth annual FCA Alex Wilcox Memorial Softball Tournament at Lagoon Park. On Saturday, Trinity will play Billingsley at 11a.m., followed by Brantley at 1p.m. 

Prattville Christian 17, LAMP 2

PRATTVILLE -- Sarah Payton Schmidt drove in three runs and Chloe Hollon drove in two as the Panthers rolled to an easy four-inning rout of LAMP in a 4A Area 5 game at PCA on Thursday.

Hollon went 3 for 3 and Schmidt went 2 for 4 to lead the Panthers. Addie Byrd, Caralee Janes, Lara Beth NeSmith, Holly Beth Rollan and Chasiti Lindsey all had two hits each.

Holly Beth Rollan picked up the win in the circle.

Prattville Christian improved to 4-0 in area play.

PCA (18-4) will play Apollo High of Owensboro, Ky., on Friday in the fifth annual FCA Alex Wilcox Memorial Softball Tournament at Lagoon Park at 3 p.m., then face Lee-Scott Academy on Saturday at 9 a.m., Tuscaloosa County at 11 a.m. and Pike Road at 3 p.m.

St. James 17, Brewbaker Tech 3

The Trojans scored six runs in the fourth inning and seven in the fifth to finish off the Rams on Thursday at Brew Tech.

Kaitlyn Hudson, Ava Stanford, Tat Shuford and Sydney Johnston all had three hits each, while Emily Darby, Emily Needham and Mary Olive Maddox each had two hits.

Shuford had a home run and a double, driving in seven runs, while Needham had a double and a home run for six RBIs. Johnston and Darby each had triples in the win.

Heleyna Pennic went 1 for 2 and drove in a pair of runs to lead Brew Tech.

Needham pitched the first four innings, picking up the win and limiting the Rams to three hits. She walked two and struck out seven.

Peyton Middleton pitched the fifth, walking two and giving up a run.

St. James (26-5) returns to action on Friday in the fifth annual FCA Alex Wilcox Memorial Softball Tournament at Lagoon Park. The Trojans will play Brantley on Friday at 11 a.m., then will face LAMP on Saturday at 11 a.m., followed by Pike Liberal Arts at 1 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER

Montgomery Academy 6, Catholic 0

Sophia Cho scored the 100th goal of her career and her teammates delivered a dominating performance as the Eagles defeated the Knights 6-0 at Catholic on Thursday.

Ten minutes into the game, Mary Elizabeth Cole played a perfectly timed pass into the path of Cho, who clinically finished to give MA a 1-0 lead.

Energized by the opener, the Lady Eagles continued to create dangerous opportunities. Valentina Rubio came close to doubling the advantage just three minutes later. Moments after, Cho drove into the box, displayed excellent footwork to create space, and slotted home into the bottom corner, extending the lead to 2-0.

Five minutes later, Cole won a free kick from 25 yards out, which Cho stepped up to take, curling a stunning strike into the top corner to complete her first-half hat trick and push the lead to 3-0. The Eagles maintained relentless pressure, and before halftime, Kerstin Daniels played a well-weighted pass to Cole, who turned on the half-turn and unleashed a powerful 20-yard strike past the goalkeeper to give MA a commanding 4-0 advantage heading into the break.

Fifteen minutes into the second half, Cho found space at the top of the box and calmly placed her shot into the bottom corner, making it 5-0. The senior’s fourth goal of the night was the 100th of her career, marking a milestone moment.

With 15 minutes remaining, Halle Rogers drove forward and won a corner kick for MA. Cho delivered a dangerous ball into the box that was initially cleared, but Kirsten Thomas reacted quickly, striking a thunderous shot into the top left corner to seal an emphatic 6-0 victory.

Catholic (12-2) will return to action next Tuesday with a 4A Area 3 matchup at home against St. James.

Montgomery Academy (8-2) returned home to play host to 7A Area 3 rival JAG on Friday for Senior Night at McLemore Field at 5:30 p.m.

BOYS SOCCER

Montgomery Academy 4, Catholic 0

Cade Segars scored a pair of goals as the Eagles shut out the Knights 4-0 on Thursday at Catholic.

Drew Phenix scored the game’s first goal and assisted Hayes Lachney on the second goal before Segars added a pair of insurance goals to give the Eagles a cushion.  

Montgomery Academy goalkeeper Grady Ming had eight saves to help the Eagles hand Catholic its third consecutive loss.

Montgomery Academy (11-1-1) will return home to play JAG in a Class 7A Area 3 match at McLemore Field on Friday at 7 p.m.

Catholic (8-8) will return to action next Tuesday, playing host to St. James in a Class 4A Area 3 game.