WEEKEND ROUNDUP: ACA takes series over St. James; PCA softball finishes second in Classic

ACA catcher Trey Schlemmer attempts to apply a tag on St. James baserunner Tyson Eley in the Eagles’ win over the Trojans on Friday. (Tim Gayle)

COMBINED REPORTS
It was the first 4A Area 3 series of the season, but it may well have decided who wins the area race.

Alabama Christian Academy, still stinging from an extra-inning loss to St. James on Thursday night, came back to even the series with a 6-2 win on Friday, then captured the tiebreaker with a 6-5 win in the nightcap of the doubleheader at the AUM Dixie Majors field on Friday night.

“If us and St. James have exactly the same area record, that tiebreaker obviously is huge,” ACA coach Manuel Guice said. “Even though we know that third game is not an area game, we’re playing it as if it’s the third game of a playoff. It’s that important to us. At the end of the day, that could possibly determine if you’re in the playoffs, if you’re not in the playoffs, if you’re area champs, if you’re the area runner-up.”

The five-team area includes a startup Booker T. Washington program with an area-only schedule that starts in April, a rebuilding LAMP program and a Bullock County program that won’t field a team in 2021, leaving the Trojans and the Eagles as the odds-on favorites.

After watching his team surrender six unearned runs in the opener, St. James coach Keith Lucky wasn’t ready to proclaim his team the favorite in any matchup.

“We’ve got a good baseball team, but you play like we did today, anybody can beat us,” Lucky said. “So we’re fighting to stay as the area runner-up. (ACA) has the upper leg, there’s no doubt about it. It’s a huge game for them.”

Lucky watched his team hand over the area lead in an error-filled second inning as ACA scored five runs with the help of four Trojan errors. Trey Schlemmer and Preston Hicks both reached base on throwing errors and the Eagles scored their first run on a wild pitch to tie the game, then took the lead on an RBI single by Jalen Clark. Thomas Stovall lined a pitch off of first baseman KJ Jackson’s glove for a base hit and the hurried throw home from second baseman Ethan Beard was high, allowing another run to score.

Zac Westbrook reached base on another error, Brandon Bice singled in a run and Mason Prestage’s fly ball to left field was misplayed and dropped in for an RBI double. That finished the night for a frustrated Cooper Wright, who was relieved by Clint Shores.

ACA starter Isaac Warrick, meanwhile, weathered a pair of errors that allowed unearned runs by St. James in the first and third innings, giving up just four hits while striking out eight to pick up the win.
“Their starting pitchers definitely did a better job than ours did,” Lucky said. “That’s how it was. My first pitcher started out OK, they started kicking the ball behind him, you lose your composure -- which is natural, these are teenagers -- and then the strike zone gets tighter.

“Their guys, they struggled at times but somehow they pulled through. And that’s the mark of a baseball player, being able to overcome adversity when we couldn’t.”

JT Moorer, like Warrick, pitched a complete game in the nightcap, allowing five hits while striking out three.

“I felt good going into today about who we had going on the mound,” Guice said. “They had Carson (Howard on Thursday) night and Carson’s just a great baseball player. Once we got past him, I felt good about our possible matchups. Isaac and JT both came out and threw really, really well for us. For us to be able to sweep today, we absolutely had to have them do that.”

While all eight runs in the opener were unearned, ACA earned all six runs in the second game as Westbrook had a home run to lead off the bottom of the first and Clark added a two-run double in the second to jump-start the Eagles. 

Four of the Trojans’ runs were unearned, including the final two as St. James rallied with two runs in the fifth and two more in the seventh and the potential game-tying run in scoring position before a flyout ended the game.

In all, 12 of the 19 runs scored on Friday were unearned runs. 

“He expects his guys to make those plays, I expect my guys to make those plays, too,” Guice said. “But on the flip side, it is March 12 and it’s still early in the season. That’s why you hate to have to play a series like that this early because you’re still working out a lot of that stuff. Today, when I went back to back with the same lineups, that’s the first time this year.”

ACA improved to 5-7-1 with the win and 1-1 in area play, while St. James dropped to 7-8 and 1-1. The Eagles play Dadeville and Tallassee on Saturday in Dadeville, while St. James plays Catholic on Monday. 

Lucky hopes to see a different team next week against Catholic and on Thursday and Friday against LAMP than what he witnessed on Friday.

“It was terrible,” he said of the first game. “In the second game, they came out hitting the baseball but again, we’re just not making plays. Dropped balls, opportunities to get out of innings and we just couldn’t do it. We kind of reverted back to how we started out the season.”

Westbrook went 3 for 3 in the two games to lead the Eagles, reaching base in all eight plate appearances. Prestage went 3 for 6, reaching base five times, and Clark went 2 for 6 and drove in three runs. 

Howard led the Trojans, going 3 for 5 and reaching base in six of his eight plate appearances.   

St. James 5, Alabama Christian 4 (8) (Thursday)

Tyson Eley's well-placed ground ball allowed Zac Russell to score from third base with two outs in the bottom of the eighth to give Saint James its fourth straight victory and a 1-0 lead in 4A Area 5 as they won a back-and-forth battle over the Eagles.
Alabama Christian took a 2-0 lead in the top of the fourth, scoring a run in the first on a two-out RBI single by Isaac Warrick, who led the Eagles’ offensive attack with three hits, and an unearned run in the fourth on Warrick’s second single, a pair of errors and a groundout.
Saint James finally took the lead with three runs in the bottom of the fourth. An Eley walk, a Michael Winn single, and a one-out walk to Kevin Taylor loaded the bases. After a strikeout, Ethan Beard grounded an 0-2 pitch down the left field line for a bases-clearing double.
The Eagles would regain the lead with two unearned runs in the top of the sixth. Warrick's third single and an error put two runners on base, and a two out dropped fly ball allowed both to score to give ACA a 4-3 lead.  

Jeffrey Ford led off the bottom of the sixth with a single and Beard followed up with a hit on a perfectly executed hit and run. Ford scored as the ball was overrun in the outfield but the Eagles kept the score at 4-4 despite Beard advancing to third with no outs.

Neither team seriously threatened in the seventh and St. James’ starter Carson Howard, who pitched a complete game but was nearing his pitch-count limit, retired ACA in order in the top of the eighth to set up Eley’s game-winning RBI single in the bottom half of the inning by the Trojans.

BASEBALL

Macon East Academy 13, Crenshaw Christian 0

CECIL -- Kirkland Pugh pitched a two-hitter over four innings, striking out four, as the Knights defeated Crenshaw 13-0 on Friday. 

Matthew Kitchens had three hits to lead the offense as part of a 12-hit attack. Tanner Moore, Pugh and Stone Yarnell each had two RBIs.

Macon East Academy 10, Chambers 3

LAFAYETTE -- Matthew Kitchens pitched a complete game, allowing three runs on seven hits while striking out five and walking none to give the Knights an important area victory over the Rebels on Thursday. 

Colby Cox had three hits and drove in three runs to lead the Macon East offense. Jabe Boroff added three RBIs for Macon East.

Macon East Academy 12, Abbeville Christian 2 (5)

CECIL -- Colby Cox scattered four hits and two runs in a complete-game outing, striking out 10 in five innings of work as the Knights defeated the Generals on Saturday afternoon.

Tanner Moore had three of Macon East’s 12 hits, while Cox helped his own effort with a three-run home run at the plate. 

Cox, along with Khamani Driver and Stone Yarnell, all had three RBIs in the win. 

Macon East Academy (12-5) travels to Hope Hull to play Hooper on Monday at 4 p.m.

Trinity 11, Flomaton 0

Ben Easterling pitched a one-hitter while striking out eight to lead the Wildcats to an 11-0 win over Flomaton on Friday afternoon.

Parker Hughes went 2 for 2 with an RBI and William Roberson went 2 for 3 with two RBIs to lead the Trinity offense.

Trinity (4-5) plays host to LAMP on Monday at 3:30 at Jason Armstrong Field.

Pike Road 3, Montgomery Academy 0

Britton Kohn allowed just one hit and one run over five innings as the senior held the Pike Road offense in check, but the Patriots found enough offense to win 3-0 at Bowen Field on Friday.

Kohn struck out eight and went 1 for 3 at the plate but the Patriots scored a pair of runs over the final two innings to secure the victory. Beau Smith pitched the final two innings for Montgomery Academy, giving up two runs on two hits while striking out one.

Luke Nelson went 2 for 3 to lead the Eagles’ offense, while Parker Cook went 1 for 3.

Montgomery Academy (3-5-1) remains home to play Brew Tech on Monday at 4:30 p.m.

SOFTBALL

Hooper 1, Edgewood 0

Braylee Bates doubled in Asia Brown with the game’s only run in the fifth inning as Hooper Academy defeated Edgewood in walk-off fashion in the quarterfinals of the Lagoon Park Bash on Saturday at Lagoon Park Softball Complex.

The two area rivals battled through four innings of scoreless softball as Haley Dyson held the Edgewood bats in check. After Brown drew a walk, Bates drove her in with a double to the center field fence to send the Colts into the semifinals.

Clarke Prep defeated Hooper 6-0 in the semifinals to advance to the finals.

Hooper (14-5) will face Autauga Academy at home in an area game on Tuesday afternoon.

Spanish Fort 7, Catholic 3

PRATTVILLE -- Spanish Fort defeated the Knights 7-3 in the opening round of the PCA Classic at Mac Gray Park on Friday.

Carissa Gilbert took the loss, giving up two earned runs and striking out three. At the plate, Alanna Aiken hit a three-run home run and McKenzie Norton had the only other hit for Catholic.

Catholic 11, Opelika 5

PRATTVILLE -- Catholic bounced back from the Friday night loss with an 11-5 win over the Bulldogs in the PCA Classic at Mac Gray Park on Saturday.

Catholic scored 11 runs in the first inning. McKenzie Norton had two hits, two RBIs and two runs scored, Chloe Walden had two hits, two RBIs and a run scored, Nona Johnson had two RBIs and Alanna Aiken had a two-run home run, scored twice and picked up the win in the circle for the Knights.

Autauga Academy 17-8, Cornerstone Christian 2-2

PRATTVILLE -- Jordan Barnes hit for the cycle in the first game of a doubleheader on Friday, scoring three runs and driving in three more with a single, double, triple and home run to lead the Generals to a 17-2 win in a AA Region 1 Area 2 game at Autauga Academy.

Ava Farmer went 3 for 3 with two runs scored and three RBIs and Shae Seamon went 3 for 3 with two runs scored and two RBIs in the opener. Maddie Johnson went 2 for 2 with a double, three runs scored and an RBI, Claire Seamon went 2 for 3 with a run scored and an RBI and Bailey Lightsey went 1 for 1 for the Generals. 

Riley Ward went 2 for 3, scoring a pair of runs, and picked up the win in the circle by striking out six and allowing just two hits.

In the second game, Meygn Barnett went 2 for 3 with a pair of triples at the plate and allowed just three hits while striking out five in the circle to help the Generals to an 8-2 win.

Stella McDonald went 2 for 2 with a run scored and a pair of RBIs, Farmer went 2 for 3 while scoring twice, Ward went 1 for 2 and scored a run, Lauren Hughes went 1 for 3 and Lightsey went 0 for 1 and drew a pair of walks in the win.

Autauga (6-5) evened its area record at 2-2 with the sweep and travels to Hope Hull on Tuesday to play Hooper in an area game.

PCA finishes second in own tourney

PRATTVILLE - Prattville Christian finished second in the PCA Classic over the weekend, winning four games over Jeff Davis (16-6), Catholic (1-0), St. James (4-2) and LAMP (5-0) before falling to Spanish Fort in the finals, 1-0.

Landyn McAnnally pitched a no hitter in the win over LAMP with 10 strikeouts. She also was the winning pitcher against Catholic, allowing just two hits while striking out 10. She had seven strikeouts in the loss to Spanish Fort. Alicia McKissick got the win over Jeff Davis. Riley Swinney got the win over St. James with Sarah Williams earning the save.

Williams had the game-winning hit against Catholic as part of a seven-hit performance in the tourney. She also added four RBIs.

McAnnally had five hits and three runs driven in. Saniyah Weaver had four hits and Payson Hanson had three hits and 9 RBIs.

PCA (14-5) returns to action on Tuesday against Pike Road.

Prattville Christian Academy 13, Trinity 3 (6)

PRATTVILLE – Before the weekend tourney, Arielle Williams went 2 for 3 at the plate and struck out 11 Trinity batters in the circle to give the Panthers a 13-3 win in the 3A Area 6 opener for both teams on Thursday.

Sarah Williams also went 2 for 3 for Prattville Christian, while Landyn McAnnally was 2 for 2.

Catholic 9, Pike Road 6

Carissa Gilbert pitched the final four innings in relief of Alanna Aiken, allowing just two hits and no runs while striking out five to pick up the win in a 9-6 win over the Patriots on Thursday.

At the plate CeCe Crawford had three hits and a RBI to lead Catholic, while Auburn Wilcoxson had two hits, three runs scored and a RBI. Alana Aiken scored two runs and had a pair of stolen bases. Chloe Walden had two hits, scored a run and added a stolen base. Nona Johnson and Mallory Hildebrand each had a RBI. 

Catholic improved to 7-5-1 while Pike Road dropped to 3-10. The Knights return to action in the Prattville Christian Tournament this weekend in Prattville, facing Spanish Fort in an opening round game on Friday at 3:30 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER

Montgomery Academy 7, Alabama Christian 0

Kaitlin Phenix increased her season total to 18 with a pair of goals on Friday and Leighton Robertson added a pair of goals as well to help the Eagles win their region opener with a 7-0 win over ACA.

MA’s best goal of the game came courtesy of Mary Weldon Armstrong with a rocket of a strike from 40 yards out. Bae Corley and Virginia Meachum also contributed goals in the win. 

“It was a good win to start area play,” MA coach Joseph White said. “Looking forward to two more area games next week.” 

Trinity 5, Providence Christian 0

Mary Davis Bricken scored three goals and Healey Mathison added two as the Wildcats shut out Providence Christian 5-0 in the region opener on Friday.

Mathison also had one of the four assists on the goals, along with Katherine Warren, Ella Wiswall and Emilyn Etheredge.

Kaylee Peevy preserved the shutout at goalkeeper for the Wildcats (6-3-1).  

BOYS SOCCER

Prattville Christian 7, Thomasville 0

THOMASVILLE --Brady Roberson had a pair of goals and Carson Roberson, Liam Taylor, Trey Barkley, Matthew Lisle and Adam Ouellet each scored one goal as the Panthers defeated Thomasville 7-0 on Friday in the region opener for both teams.

Grant Scott and Chase Gay each had one assist for PCA (3-3), which travels to Millbrook on Monday to play 6A Stanhope Elmore.

Montgomery Academy 7, Alabama Christian 0

Alex Kohn scored three goals, the first two on assists by Clisby Berry and Lukas Yi, as the Eagles defeated Alabama Christian on Friday for their first area win of the season. 

MA scored three goals in the first 20 minutes of the game, with a Bobby Eskridge steal and goal sandwiched between the two Kohn goals. Kohn assisted Braxton Welch and Berry on a pair of goals and scored his third of the night for a 6-0 lead before Ruston Bassett’s goal closed out the scoring following an assist from Yi.

Will Beringer preserved the shutout at goalkeeper.

In the junior varsity game on Saturday at St. James, the Trojans scored late on a corner kick to salvage a 2-2 tie with the Eagles. Andrew Phenix and Win Berry scored the two goals for MA with a pair of assists by Ben Barton.

GIRLS TENNIS

Montgomery Academy 9, Catholic 0

The Eagles remained unbeaten after cruising past Catholic in singles and doubles competition on Thursday.

In singles competition, Gabby Barrera defeated Ella Newell at No. 1; Jenna Chandler defeated Rachel Rodriguez at No. 2; Mae Mae Voltz defeated Grayson Howell at No. 3; McRae Freeman defeated Piper Schneider at No. 4; Kareena Singh defeated Emma Garrison at No. 5; and Clara Ryan defeated Ellie Poole at No. 6.

In doubles competition, the No. 1 team of Chandler-Voltz beat Newell-Howell; the No. 2 team of Barrera-Freeman beat Rodriguez-Schneider; and the No. 3 team of Cate Peeples and MaryLee Kelso beat Garrison and Maria Cervantes.

BOYS TENNIS

Montgomery Academy finishes fifth in McGill-Toolen Invitational

MOBILE -- The Eagles finished fifth in the 16-team A division of the prestigious McGill-Toolen Invitational on Saturday featuring some of the top tennis teams from Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

The Eagles opened the tournament by defeating Ocean Springs (Miss.) High 5-4 on Friday. Guy Hughes won the deciding match to help the Eagles to the win. The eventual tournament runner-up, Brother Martin Catholic School of New Orleans, defeated MA 7-2 in the second match of the day. 

The Eagles bounced back the next morning with an 8-1 win over Saint Thomas More Catholic School from Lafayette, La., as the doubles teams of Hamilton Chapman-Whit Davis, Guy Hughes-Gaines Freeman and John Alford-Jackson Brown began the match sweeping the doubles points to help the Eagles gain control of the match. 

In the match for fith place, Montgomery Academy defeated Pensacola (Fla.) Catholic School 5-4. The doubles teams of Hamilton Chapman-Whit Davis and John Alford-Jackson Brown started the match off with wins and John Alford, Jackson Brown and Gaines Freeman sealed the match with wins in singles. 

The Eagles are back in action on Wednesday against UMS-Wright.