PREP UPDATE: Justice signs baseball scholly; MA boys top Indian Springs; Lowndes drops Edgewood

Macon East’s Gunner Justice signed a scholarship with Coastal Alabama Community College. (Staff Photo)

COMBINED REPORTS

CECIL -- Gunner Justice never thought of himself the way others did, so he never really considered the fact that colleges would recruit him to play baseball. 

Macon East Academy head coach Will Graham, on the other hand, was pretty sure Justice would have an opportunity to play at the next level. Graham remembers the day he first saw Justice, when the former was an assistant coach for Bob Pickett and the latter was a freshman at Macon East.

“I came in my first year and Coach Pickett told me we’ve got a kid that’s going to be a ninth grader and I think he’s going to start at shortstop,” Graham recalled. “I’m thinking, ‘a ninth grader is going to start at shortstop, one of the most important defensive positions on the field.’ After about two days of practice, I just looked at (Pickett) and said I understand where you’re coming from now.

“As a freshman, we hit him down in the (batting) order but it seemed, even as a ninth grader, he had all the confidence in the world when he came to the plate. He was going to make something happen for you.

“And that’s continued throughout his career.”

On Monday, the school held a signing ceremony for Justice, who will be attending Coastal Alabama Community College (South) in Bay Minette to play for the Coyotes and new coach J.D. Pruitt, the former head coach at Spanish Fort. 

“He’s a great guy,” Justice said. “He has great things going for the program, a lot of new renovations, and the campus, I fell in love with it when I went down there.”

A three-year starter at shortstop, Justice batted .346 with an on-base percentage of .482 in 308 at-bats, scoring 130 runs with 20 doubles and 71 RBIs. After his sophomore season, Graham noted, Justice spent more time in the weight room and became a stronger player, moving into the leadoff role for the Knights and hitting .364 with an on-base percentage of .494. In 121 at-bats, he scored 61 runs, hit 12 doubles and drove in 23 runs to lead Macon East back to the finals after winning the state championship in 2022 as a sophomore.

“He really became feared at the plate,” Graham said. “Nobody wanted to throw to him. He’s a really disciplined hitter, he knows the strike zone, he knows how to work counts.

“And when you get all those reps at shortstops for three years and you’ve got a guy with his glove and his arm and the way he moves, it’s hard to replace that at shortstop. I’m glad I’ve got him for one more year.”

Justice, while he’s hoping to get the Knights back into the AAA finals this year, said he wanted to work on “getting bigger, faster, stronger, more consistent with the bat” to make an immediate impact with the Coyotes in 2025. 

BOYS BASKETBALL

Montgomery Academy 72, Indian Springs 68

Skyler Stovall had 25 points, nine rebounds, six assists and six steals to lead the Eagles to a 72-68 win over Indian Springs in the iBALL Radio with Terry Drake Basketball Showcase Game at Joe Mooty Court on Monday night.

Montgomery Academy jumped out to a 39-26 halftime lead by outscoring Indian Springs 22-13 in the second quarter. Indian Springs then outscored MA 25-17 in the third quarter with the help of four 3-pointers. The Eagles were able to hold off Indian Springs down the stretch, going 8 of 11 from the free throw line to seal the game. 

Brewer Welch hit four 3-pointers for the Eagles and finished with 19 points, six rebounds, eight assists and five steals. Cole Caddell chipped in 19 points, including 15 in the first half, along with two rebounds and three assists. DJ Vinson had just one point, but grabbed 16 rebounds and had three blocks and two steals. Seth Edwards scored six points and grabbed six rebounds to go along with two assists, a steal and a blocked shot. 

Montgomery Academy (5-1) will travel to Prattville on Tuesday and play Prattville Christian Academy.

Fort Dale Academy 62, Hooper Academy 57

HOPE HULL -- The Colts surrendered 22 points in the first quarter, then spent the next three quarters trying to overtake Fort Dale before falling 62-57 at Darrell Self Gym on Monday.

Slade Russell scored seven of his team-high 17 points in the first quarter, but the Colts fell behind 22-13 before cutting the deficit to four, 35-31, at the half. Luke Mosley scored eight of his 15 points in the second quarter to help the rally, but the Colts could never overtake Fort Dale.

Ethan Alford led Fort Dale with 19 points, followed by Ty Carter with 12.

Hooper (1-2) will travel to Glenwood on Friday.

Lowndes Academy 46, Edgewood Academy 28

LOWNDESBORO -- Clayton Hussey had 27 points, 10 rebounds, nine steals, a pair of blocked shots and two assists for the Rebels in their 2023-24 season opener on Monday. 

Zach Azar added eight points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots, followed by Pierson Hill with seven points and seven rebounds, Watters Box with two points and two rebounds and Andrew Myers with two points and a rebound.

Lee-Scott Academy 65, Evangel Christian 53

Tylon Shine scored 17 points for Evangel in a tough loss to the Warriors on Monday night.

Jordan Duncan added 11 points for the Lions, while Will McCord and Andre Stoddard both scored 10 points.

The Lions (1-3) will travel to Elmore to play Edgewood Academy on Friday.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

St. James 64, Pike Road 53 

PIKE ROAD -- Natalie Barton poured in 32 points to lead the Trojans past the Patriots 64-53 on Monday in the Pike Road gym.

Ava Card added 17 points for the Trojans, followed by Kaitlin Mitchell with eight points. 

Audry Blaine and Jazz Johnson each scored 21 points to lead the Patriots.  

St. James (5-2) returns to action on Monday at Catholic, while Pike Road (4-2) will travel to Montgomery to play Sidney Lanier on Tuesday.  

In the junior varsity game, Lily Stanford had 11 points to help the Trojans remain unbeaten with a 36-33 win over the Patriots. 

Mary Olive Maddox added eight points for St. James, while Ragan King and Kaden Fair both chipped in seven points each.  

For Pike Road, Camille Moorer finished with 13 points, followed by Jordan Robinson with 11.  

St. James (4-0) will play host to Trinity on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.

Trinity 63, Brew Tech 27

Mya Moskowitz scored 22 points to lead the defending state champion Wildcats to an easy 36-point win over Brew Tech on Monday. 

Maddie Smith added 20 points for Trinity, along with 11 steals, six assists and six rebounds. Ellie Causey scored eight points and grabbed five rebounds, while Lilly Smith had eight points and dished out seven assists. Lizzie Causey and Anna Moore both grabbed six rebounds each.