SPRING ROUNDUP: Macon East wins baseball tourney; St. James sweeps LAMP
Gunner Justice turns the double play during a game in the Macon East tourney this weekend. (Tim Gayle)
COMBINED REPORTS
CECIL - Tanner Moore belted a two-run home run to help the Knights close out play in the Macon East Tournament with an 11-1 win over Patrician Academy in the championship game of the baseball tournament on Saturday night.
Macon East scored two runs in the first inning but led just 2-1 heading into the bottom of the sixth, where the Knights erupted for nine runs to end the game on the 10-run mercy rule.
Kirkland Pugh picked up the win on the mound, allowing just four hits in the complete-game performance. The senior allowed just one unearned run while striking out eight as Macon East reeled off its 11th consecutive win.
Moore went 3 for 4 with a double and a home run, scoring twice and driving in a pair of runs to lead the offense. Colby Cox went 1 for 4, scoring twice and driving in a pair of runs, while Jabe Boroff went 1 for 4 and scored a run while driving in two runs.
Macon East Academy scored 41 runs in three games to cruise into the finals of the Macon East Tournament, awaiting its opponent for a Saturday night game.
The Knights won the tournament opener on Thursday against Crenshaw Christian 15-0, advancing to the second round of the tournament against Abbeville Christian on Friday afternoon. Macon East scored a run in the first, two in the second, three in the third and four in the fifth to defeat the Generals 10-3 in a game shortened to six innings by time constraints.
Cox pitched a complete game for the Knights, scattering five hits while striking out seven. Many of those hits came in the fourth inning when the Generals put together a three-run rally to cut the deficit in half.
Moore, Luke Noffsinger and Matthew Kitchens each had two hits to lead the offense, while Kitchens drove in three runs.
Patrician won its second-round game over the Clarke Prep in the Friday afternoon matchup, advancing to a Friday night game against the Knights.
Cox and Gunner Justice each drove in three runs as the Knights advanced to the finals with a 16-1 romp over the Saints. Moore and Justice each had a pair of hits to lead the Macon East offense.
Kitchens picked up the win on the mound, allowing five hits and one run over three innings in a game shortened by the mercy rule. Kitchens struck out three and walked one.
Macon East (17-5) returns to action on Friday at noon against Clarke Prep in the Monroe Academy Tournament.
BASEBALL
St. James 11-14, LAMP 2-4
The Trojans took the first game of a doubleheader on Friday at St. James to win the area series, then took the tiebreaker against the Golden Tigers with a 14-4 victory that was shortened to six innings by the 10-run mercy rule.
In the opener, the Trojans scored two in the first, two in the second and five in the fourth to coast to victory after a 3-1 win in the series opener at Paterson Field on Thursday.
St. James took a 2-0 lead in the first on a single by Ethan Beard and a walk to Zac Russell, with Beard scoring on an error and Russell scoring on a Tyson Eley groundout.
The Trojans made it 4-0 in the second when Owen McNeal was hit by a pitch and Adam Garnett and Jeffrey Ford followed with walks. Beard drove in courtesy runner Kevin Taylor with a groundout and Garnett scored on a fielder’s choice.
LAMP cut the lead in half in the third on a two-out single by Oliver Stephens and a walk by Landon Lockwood. Stephens scored on a wild pitch and Junseo Park singled in Lockwood.
K. J. Jackson and McNeal each drove in a pair of runs with singles in the decisive fourth. Carson Howard’s single followed Russell’s double for a fifth-inning run and Garnett would knock in Eley for the final run.
Reed Mangum pitched the final 3.1 innings for the win.
In the second game, LAMP took a brief 1-0 lead on a Walker Parsons’ single but the Trojans responded with four runs in the second and five more in the third.
Eley and Jeffrey Ford each drove in three runs with hits in the second and third innings.
Lockwood drove in LAMP’s second run with a fifth-inning single. The Trojans added a pair of runs in the fifth with two bases-loaded walks and ended the game in the sixth with three walks, followed by RBI singles by Michael Winn and Clint Shores, the winning pitcher.
St. James (11-8) plays host to Jeff Davis and Robert E. Lee in a pair of noon games on Thursday and Friday.
SOFTBALL
Macon East Academy 1, Crenshaw Christian 0
CECIL -- Kylee Smith drilled a fastball over the center field fence in the top of the sixth for the game’s only run in a 1-0 win over the Cougars in the Macon East Tournament on Friday.
Macon East had just two hits in the game and Smith had both of them. In the process, the sophomore won her pitcher’s duel with Crenshaw ace Abby Henderson and the Knights advanced to a second-round game in the tournament, beating Edgewood 5-2.
Macon East returns to action on Saturday at 3 p.m. in the tournament, facing Pike Liberal Arts. The winner advances to the championship game in the tournament at 7:30 p.m., while the loser drops into the elimination round of the tournament and will play in the semifinals at 6 p.m.
Prattville Christian 13, Montgomery Catholic 3
PRATTVILLE -- Landyn McAnnally pitched a complete-game one hitter and struck out 11 as the Panthers remain unbeaten in area play with a 13-3 win shortened to five innings by the mercy rule.
Arielle Williams supplied all the offense McAnnally would need, hitting a grand slam and a two-run home run in a 2-for-3 performance that drove in six runs.
Riley Sweeney also went 2 for 3, driving in three runs, while both Sarah Williams and Chloe Hollon went 2 for 3 and drove in a pair of runs. Jersee Carter went 3 for 4 and Saniyah Weaver went 2 for 2 as PCA (15-5) improved to 2-0 in area play, while Catholic dropped to 1-1.
Both teams will take a week off for spring break. PCA returns to action on April 1 at Smiths Station.
BOYS SOCCER
Prattville Christian 13, Montgomery Catholic 3
PRATTVILLE -- Landyn McAnnally pitched a complete-game one hitter and struck out 11 as the Panthers remain unbeaten in area play with a 13-3 win shortened to five innings by the mercy rule.
Arielle Williams supplied all the offense McAnnally would need, hitting a grand slam and a two-run home run in a 2-for-3 performance that drove in six runs.
Riley Sweeney also went 2 for 3, driving in three runs, while both Sarah Williams and Chloe Hollon went 2 for 3 and drove in a pair of runs. Jersee Carter went 3 for 4 and Saniyah Weaver went 2 for 2 as PCA (15-5) improved to 2-0 in area play, while Catholic dropped to 1-1.
Both teams will take a week off for spring break.
Prattville Christian 5, Brewbaker Tech 2
Matthew Lisle scored three goals and assisted on the other two to lead the Panthers to a 5-2 win over the Rams at the YMCA Emory Folmar Soccer Complex on Friday.
Jake Davis added a goal and a pair of assists. Chase Gay scored a goal and Trey Barkley had an assist.
PCA (4-4) will take a week off for spring break and returns to action on April 1 at Smiths Station.
Trinity 2, Catholic 1
Trinity coach Dann Cleveland won his 350th game as the Wildcats defeated Catholic 2-1 in a 1A-3A Region 2 soccer match on Thursday night.
Senior Jake Hufham and junior Josh Hixon had the goals for the Wildcats, while goalkeeper Jon Everette had three saves to preserve the win.
GIRLS SOCCER
St. James 10, Alabama Christian 0
Katie Brightwell scored three goals to help the Trojans take a 10-0 win over Alabama Christian on Thursday night in a 4A-5A Area 4 contest.
McKenzie Turner added two goals for the Trojans, while Dodge Prim, Haley Brightwell, Sana Shuford, Mary Grace Hixon and Renee Green all scored one.
Katie Irving recorded the shutout at goalkeepe for the Trojans, who improved to 2-0 in area play as ACA dropped to 2-2.
The Trojans take a week off for spring break, returning on March 30 at home against Prattville Christian.
TRACK AND FIELD
Montgomery Academy competes in meet at T.R. Miller
BREWTON -- The Eagles turned in a good performance at an outdoor meet on Thursday at T.R. Miller, with Anaya Thomas winning a pair of events and Phipps Fiore taking first place in the javelin.
Thomas won the 100-meter hurdles and the high jump, while Anna Perry placed third in the 300-meter hurdles and Cooper Horn was fourth in his first-ever attempt at the 300-meter hurdles. Behind Thomas in the high jump were Jai Ivy Raines in sixth and seventh grader Anna Belle Brown in seventh, with all three jumpers registering personal bests.
In addition to Fiore’s performance on the boys’ side of the field events, Bryant McClendon placed seventh in the shotput.
Brothers Camp and Eli Jernigan did well in the distance events, with Camp placing fifth in both the 800-meter and 1600-meter events while younger brother Eli was fourth in the 400-meter run. In the 3200-meter run, Elizabeth Ray was third for the girls and Ben Jordan was sixth for the boys. The boys’ 4 x 800-meter relay team was fourth as well and Susannah Miller placed eighth in the 800-meter.
In the sprint events, Allie Fitzpatrick was eighth in the 200-meter dash while the middle school 4x100-meter relay team took eighth place against varsity competition.
Montgomery Academy will take a week off for spring break and resume on April 3 in its annual Race Against Hunger Meet, which doubles as a canned food drive for the Montgomery Area Food Bank.