TUESDAY RECAP: ACA baseball wins CCC battle; Trojans outlast PCA
STAFF REPORT
BASEBALL
Alabama Christian Academy 5, Catholic 3
Hayes Hunt pitched four innings of two-hit ball while striking out eight to pick up the win as ACA defeated Catholic 5-3 on Tuesday at the AUM Dixie Majors Field.
Hunt was one of three Eagles on the mound, with JT Moorer pitching two innings and striking out two, while Isaac Warrick picked up the save in the seventh by striking out three and allowing one run.
Landon Nelson went 2 for 3 with an RBI and a double and Thomas Stovall went 2 for 3 with an RBI and a pair of stolen bases. Hunt went 1 for 2 with an RBI and a pair of walks and Trey Schlemmer went 1 for 3 with an RBI and a double.
St. James 1, Prattville Christian 0 (9 innings)
Three St. James pitchers combined on a nine-inning no hitter while the Trojans only managed two hits themselves, a Shaun Bridges’ single to lead off the bottom of the first and a Clint Shores’ single with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth as the Trojans defeated the Panthers 1-0.
Shores started for St. James and pitched seven strong innings with no hits, three walks and 13 strikeouts. Adam Garnett replaced Shores in the top of the eighth and after a groundout gave up two walks. Cooper Wright was then called in and ended what was the only Panther threat of the evening with a strikeout and a groundout.
Jackson Reed was equally effective for the Panthers. He pitched eight innings and after the opening infield base hit by Bridges, the only base runners he would surrender were on consecutive infield errors to start the fifth inning. Reed finished with 10 strikeouts.
Bryce Masters took the mound for the Panthers in the bottom of the ninth inning. Ninth-place hitter Cole Anderson worked a seven-pitch walk to start the inning. On the second pitch he stole second and went to third on the ensuing wild pitch, the only one of the game. PCA coach Tommy Goodson then intentionally walked Bridges and Foster Rasmussen to load the bases for Shores. He lined the first pitch between the drawn-in third baseman and shortstop for the game’s only run and a conclusion to a fabulous contest in fabulous February weather.
St. James (2-1) and Chilton County will face off in a doubleheader Saturday at St. James beginning at 11 a.m.
Macon East Academy 15, Edgewood Academy 2
ELMORE -- Bryant Rascoll struck out eight and only allowed three hits in four innings of work as the Knights defeated the Wildcats 15-2 in a game shortened to five innings by the 10-run mercy rule.
Jabe Boroff went 3 for 4 at the plate, with two doubles and three RBIs, while Luke Noffsinger went 1 for 2 with an RBI and a pair of stolen bases.
Matthew Kitchens, Barrett Spaeth and Rascoll each had a hit and drove in a pair of runs. Camden Bell, Gunner Justice, Dalton Nickles and Hunter Timmerman added a hit each.
Macon East Academy 14, Fort Dale Academy 1
GREENVILLE -- Matthew Kitchens pitched a three-hitter and struck out nine in a five-inning performance as the Knights defeated Fort Dale 14-1 on Monday.
Luke Noffsinger went 3 for 4 with an RBI, Jabe Boroff went 3 for 5 and Gunner Justice went 3 for 4 with a pair of RBIs. Hunter Timmerman and Dalton Nickles added two hits each and Jack Jones, Deonte Powell and Bryant Rascoll all had a hit in the win.
Trinity 3, Andalusia 2
Trinity opened the 2022 season at home on Saturday and the Wildcats edged Andalusia 3-2 at Whittle-Armstrong Field to celebrate the coaching debut of Jarrod Cook.
Not surprisingly, Cook, the former pitching coach under Hall of Fame coach Ken Whittle, won his debut with a strong pitching performance from starter Ben Easterling and reliever Coleman Stanley.
Easterling pitched 5.1 innings, allowing just three hits and one run while walking three and striking out seven. Stanley, who picked up the win, pitched the remaining 1.2 innings, allowing just one hit while striking out one.
At the plate, David Michael Lieux went 1 for 1, scoring a run and driving in another, while Grayson Ashe went 1 for 3 with a run scored.
Trinity (1-0) returns to action on Wednesday night at Elmore County.
SOFTBALL
Prattville 5, Auburn 2
AUBURN -- Freshman Kaytie Chandler was a star on the mound and at the plate, hitting a solo home run at the plate while allowing just two hits and two runs while striking out nine in a six-inning performance in the circle on Tuesday.
Jessica Cord came in the seventh to close the door for her first save of the year.
Offensively, Pyper Castro went 2 for 4 with two runs scored, Jayden Kendrick drove in a pair of runs and Cord had a double and an RBI.
The Lions (4-2) return to action at home on Thursday with Central-Phenix City at 6 p.m.
BOYS TENNIS
Mountain Brook 8, Montgomery Academy 1
The top two 6A teams from 2021 squared off on Tuesday, with Mountain Brook taking an 8-1 win over the defending state champion Eagles by sweeping the doubles action.
Whit Davis was the lone winner for the Eagles with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Connor Jenkins. Singles winners for Mountain Brook were Luke Schwefler, Logan Woodall, Thomas Austin, Max Gayden and Trey Stiles.
The Spartans swept the doubles as Jenkins-Woodall, Schwefler-Gayden and Austin-George Dumas all posted wins.
The Eagles (5-1) will be back in action Wednesday against 6A Jasper High School.
GIRLS TENNIS
Mountain Brook 8, Montgomery Academy 1
The top two teams from 2021 met again on Tuesday with the defending state champion Spartans winning again, but against a Montgomery Academy team that noticeably closed the gap since finishing second in the state tennis tournament a year ago.
MA, suffering its first loss of the year, picked up its only win at No. 1 singles in the much-anticipated matchup of Gabby Barrera and Pippa Roy as Roy retired from the match.
Lillian Still defeated Jenna Chandler 1-6, 6-2, 10-4 at No. 2 and Annie Lacey defeated Mae Mae Voltz 4-6, 6-2, 10-2 at No. 3 in highly contested battles. Mary Neale Polk, Mae Mae Lacey and Ann Royal Goodson swept their singles over Kareena Singh, Clara Ryan and Mary Lee Kelso.
In doubles, Roy-Annie Lacey at No. 1 and Mae Mae Lacey-Goodson recorded hard-fought 8-6 wins over Chandler-Voltz and Barrera-Ryan. The No. 3 team of Polk-Still defeated Singh-Kelso 8-2.
BOYS SOCCER
Montgomery Academy 9, Brewbaker Tech 0
Seniors Ruston Bassett and Alex Kohn scored a hat-trick and goalkeeper Will Beringer preserved the shutout as the Eagles won their area opener over the Rams on Tuesday night.
Kohn and Win Berry scored the first two goals with a pair of assists from Will Ray before John Allen Lachney assisted on the next two goals by Kohn and Bassett. Kohn had an assist on Clisby Berry’s goal, then scored one himself for his third goal of the game. Bassett then scored, assisted on a Win Berry goal, then took a pass from Ray for his third goal of the game.
Montgomery Academy returns to action on Tuesday against LAMP at the YMCA Emory Folmar Soccer Complex at 7 p.m.
Trinity 5, St. Paul’s Episcopal 1
Grayden Flowers scored a pair of goals, one on an assist from Browder Gulledge, to help the Wildcats defeat St. Paul’s Episcopal 5-1 on Tuesday at home.
Other goals were scored by Seungjin Han, Kip Brown and Norris Pemberton. Pemberton’s goal was assisted by Mac Davis.
The Wildcats return to action on Friday at Auburn High.