WEEKEND PREPS: Austin beats Brew Tech for FCA title
Austin celebrates the win over Brew Tech in the FCA Tourney at Lagoon Park on Saturday. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
After five innings of an intense pitching duel between Taniyah Brown and Katie Bracken, the championship game of the FCA Alex Wilcox Memorial Softball Tournament would be decided by the international tiebreaker rule.
Brewbaker Tech couldn’t push its runner across the plate. Austin did and defeated the Rams 1-0 for the tournament title on Saturday night at Lagoon Park.
“It absolutely is a boost of energy,” Austin coach Blake Gray said. “Knowing that we loaded the bases to put a force in effect and we got out of it with their two best hitters in the lineup was absolutely huge. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the pitcher got out of the jam, then hit the walk-off. I think it’s just a feed of momentum.”
After Gray had Bracken put Taniyah Brown on base to load the bases with one out, the Austin ace struck out Khamiyah Brown looking and Airele Anderson swinging to leave the bases loaded. In the bottom half of the inning, Claire Wright was placed on second base and Kensley Hilleary advanced her to third with a sacrifice bunt, setting the stage for Bracken’s single through the right side of the infield.
“The point I was making to the girls in the last inning was Kensley came up, not in a pressure situation, but with an opportunity,” Gray said. “And she got the first bunt down in the entire game. Katie came up after striking out back-to-back hitters and she doesn’t look at a runner on third as a scary situation, but as an opportunity.”
The tournament featured 20 teams honoring the memory of Wilcox, the former Brantley High and Mississippi State player that passed away in 2018 from ovarian cancer. The first tournament in 2019 featured an exciting championship game between G.W. Long and Gardendale. After the second tournament was canceled by COVID-19 and the third by rain, the fourth tournament lived up to expectations with another classic title bout between Austin and Brew Tech.
“We needed to be pushed and we needed to be challenged because we haven’t been,” Brew Tech coach Chris Steiner said. “And in order to play at the highest level, you have to be put in situations. You’re going to fail but you’re also are going to win and you’ve got to figure it out along the way. These kids have never been put in championship situations and we have to learn how to execute and we have to learn how to finish.”
The top 12 teams were placed in a single-elimination bracket with Tuscaloosa County, Catholic, Opp and Brew Tech winning games to face the top four seeds. Top-seeded Central-Phenix City defeated Tuscaloosa County to set up a rematch with Austin and this time the Bears won 5-1 to advance to the championship game. In the other half of the bracket, Brew Tech defeated Luverne 5-2, Spanish Fort 8-3 and Opp 3-0 to reach the finals.
Taniyah Brown, who pitched the Rams to wins over Brantley and Spring Garden on Friday, then three more teams on Saturday, allowed just three singles in the loss to Austin.
“I couldn’t ask any more,” Steiner said. “We’ve thrown one pitcher, she’s thrown three days straight, seven games, and you can’t ask any more than what she’s giving you ever time she steps on the mound. I’m extremely proud of her for that. She actually pitched better at the end than she did at the beginning, which is phenomenal.”
Austin (22-4-1) got two hits from Brackin as well as a standout pitching performance from the University of Alabama-Huntsville signee, who allowed just three hits by the Rams.
“I thought she did a good job hitting the corners, her ball was moving well, she had good velocity,” Steiner said. “To come out and finally see a hard-throwing pitcher that’s got good stuff, that’s good for us, we need to see that.
“This is the first challenging pitcher we’ve seen and I just feel like our lack of focus at the plate and lack of execution cost us in the long run and that’s just inexperience.”
Gray was equally praiseworthy of his opponent, particularly the Browns.
“Their battery, pitching and catching, was awesome,” he said. “That pitcher, we definitely had a battle with her. The defense behind the pitcher was also pretty tough.”
Brew Tech (21-1) opens area play this week, facing Pike Road on Tuesday and Tallassee on Thursday. Steiner feels her team is more prepared after playing in the FCA tournament.
“It’s a very good tournament,” she said. “We got to play good teams from a lot of different areas. We played a lot of ranked teams this weekend, which is good for us, and we competed all weekend. That’s good for us to get to play good competition.”
The remaining eight teams that didn’t qualify for championship play competed in the silver bracket. Charles Henderson defeated Spring Garden 2-0 and Andalusia beat Marbury 8-2 to advance to the championship round of that bracket. Andalusia scored three runs in the first for an early lead and held on to beat Charles Henderson 7-4.
BASEBALL
Trinity 8, Gordo 2
GORDO -- Ben Easterling held the Green Wave to a pair of runs and homered at the plate to lead the Wildcats to an 8-2 win on Saturday.
Easterling picked up the win on the mound, pitching 5.1 innings in allowing eight hits and two runs while striking out one and walking two. At the plate, he went 3 for 4, including a home run.
Webber McClinton pitched the final 1.2 innings, allowing no runs and no hits while striking out one and walking one.
Offensively for Trinity, Grayson Ashe went 2 for 3 and drove in a pair of runs, Mac McClinton went 2 for 4 and scored a run, David Michael Lieux and Flemming Hall both went 2 for 4 with an RBI and Walker McClinton went 2 for 3 with an RBI.
Trinity (14-3) travels to Montgomery Academy on Thursday to open area play at 4 p.m.
Trinity 8, Fayette County 0
GORDO -- Coleman Stanley wrapped up spring break by pitching and four-hit shutout and striking out 10 to help the Wildcats to an 8-0 win over Fayette County on Saturday.
Mac McClinton went 3 for 4 with a double, scored twice and drove in a pair of runs, Grayson Ashe went 2 for 2 with a pair of walks, a double and a triple and drove in a run and Brody Rascoll went 1 for 3 and drove in a pair of runs.
Macon East Academy 12, Patrician Academy 1
MONROEVILLE -- Matthew Kitchens pitched a complete-game two hitter, striking out eight, to lead the Knights to a 12-1 win over the Saints in a Monroe Academy Round Robin Tournament game limited to five innings by the 10-run mercy rule.
Jabe Boroff went 2 for 2, including a two-run home run over the center field fence, a walk and a hit by pitch. Bryant Rascoll went 2 for 2 with a double and a hit by pitch while driving in five runs and Kitchens went 1 for 2 with a pair of walks and a pair of RBIs.
Macon East (21-2) will travel to Prattville to face Autauga Acdaemy on Monday at 4 p.m. in a rematch of last year’s semifinal playoff series.
Macon East Academy 16, Southern Academy 3
MONROEVILLE -- Hunter Timmerman and Camden Bell combined on a two hitter as the Knights defeated Southern 16-3 in a game halted after four innings by the mercy rule on Saturday.
Timmerman picked up the win in 2.2 innings of work, allowing one hit and three earned runs with no walks while striking out six. Bell pitched the final 1.1 innings, allowing just one hit while walking one.
Jabe Boroff went 1 for 1 with a walk and a stolen base while driving in a pair of runs, Matthew Kitchens went 1 for 2 with a walk and a hit by pitch while driving in three runs, Luke Noffsinger went 1 for 2 with a double and a hit by pitch while driving in a run and Deonte Powell went 1 for 2 with a walk and an RBI. Timmerman went 1 for 3 with a walk and drove in a pair of runs.
LAMP 4, Catholic 3
Grayson Hall delivered a go-ahead, two-run double in the bottom of the sixth inning and Luke Littlejohn came one out shy of pitching a complete game to lead LAMP to a 4-3 victory over Catholic on Saturday at Paterson Field.
The loss snapped a seven-game skid for the Tigers (9-8) and completed a two-game sweep of the Knights this season. LAMP rallied in both games, outscoring Catholic by a combined 9-1 in the sixth and seventh innings.
Hall’s double was one of two hits in the contest for the junior. Andrew Lutz also added a pair of hits and a RBI. Lutz and Hall each contributed a stolen base.
Littlejohn improved to 3-1 on the season, tossing 6.2 innings and allowing three runs, while striking out seven. Preston Stephens got the last out of the game to pick up the save.
Catholic took the lead in the top of the first inning when Alex Wieser launched a two-run homer to left field and extended its lead to 3-0 on a RBI hit by Patrick Ryan in the third.
Stephens put the Tigers on the board in the bottom of the third when he scored on a wild pitch. After throwing out a pair of Knight runners trying to steal in the top of the fifth to eliminate a scoring threat, Lutz plated Hall on an RBI single in the bottom of the frame, pulling the Tigers to within 3-2.
Hall put LAMP up for good with his two-out double, plating Walker Parsons and Stephens, who both walked.
Wieser threw the opening five innings for Catholic, allowing three runs on five hits, striking out five. Caleb McCreary took the loss after allowing one run in two-thirds of an inning.
Offensively, Wieser led Catholic with three hits, while Ryan added two knocks. Justin Rose scored twice.
LAMP will return to action on Monday when it hosts Montgomery Academy at 3 p.m. on LAMP’s campus. The contest will be the Tigers’ Military Appreciation contest, where military members will receive free admission to attend.
St. James 16, Montgomery Academy 5
Walton Norrell went 2 for 4 and drove in a pair of runs, but the Eagles couldn’t keep pace with St. James in a 16-5 loss at Bowen Field on Saturday afternoon.
Parker Cook went 1 for 3 and scored twice, Judson Lindsey went 1 for 3 and scored a run and Bray Renfroe went 1 for 3 and drove in a run to lead the Eagles. Will Hardin went 1 for 4 and drove in a run as well.
Luke Nelson took the loss for the Eagles, allowing eight runs, three earned, on four hits while striking out three in three innings of work. Oscar Fiore pitched 1.2 innings in relief, allowing six runs on seven hits while striking out four. Beau Smith pitched the final 2.1 innings, allowing two runs on four hits.
Montgomery Academy (6-4) returns to action on Monday with a game at LAMP at 3 p.m.
BOYS SOCCER
Catholic 1, Providence Christian 0
DOTHAN -- Sam Rogers scored the Knights’ only goal but it held up as the game winner in a 1-0 win over Providence Christian on Thursday.
Catholic plays host to Pike County on Monday at 5:30 p.m., before traveling to Pike Road on Thursday for a game at 7 p.m.