After losing game one in extra innings on Thursday, Alabama Christian knew they had to win both ends of a doubleheader to own the tiebreaker over St James in the Area. It was an intense atmosphere at the AUM baseball complex as the Eagles silenced the Trojans 6-2 in the first game and held on for the series win with a 6-5 victory in the nightcap. Both teams stand at 1-1 in Area play, but ACA has the advantage after taking two of three.
Zac Westbrook readies for the tag of the St James base runner.
In the opener, St James scratched across a run in the top of the first on an RBI ground out, but there was no further damage as Trey Schlemmer threw out a would be base stealer to end the frame. In the second inning, the first two Eagles reached via Trojan errors. Jack Thomas tied the game as he scored on a passed ball and Jalen Clark singled home Preston Hicks to give the Eagles a lead they would never relinquish. Clark later scored on a Thomas Stovall single to stretch the lead to 3-1. Two more errors helped two more runs score and ACA had a commanding 5-1 advantage. Five runs were more than enough for starting pitcher Isaac Warrick who kept the Trojan offense in check. The lefty allowed only four hits and struck out eight in the complete game effort. The Eagles last run of the night came in the fourth inning as Mason Prestage hustled down the line to avoid a double play that allowed Zac Westbrook to score the team’s sixth run. Westbrook’s three hits led the offense as the senior shortstop finished 3 for 4 with a double and a run scored. Brandon Bice went 2 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored while Mason Prestage was 2 for 4 with a run driven in.
Mason Prestage bats against St James in game one.
In the second game, Zac Westbrook led off the bottom of the first with a laser over the right field wall to give the Eagles momentum and a 1-0 lead. Although St James scored a run in the top of the second to tie the game the Eagles responded and all the energy remained in the Alabama Christian dugout. With the game tied in the bottom of the second Jalen Clark knocked in Preston Hicks and Hayes Hunt with a double to right for the 3-1 lead. One inning later, Isaac Warrick doubled in Mason Prestage and later scored on a Trey Schlemmer sacrifice fly to expand the lead to 5-1. In the top of the fifth the Trojans scored two runs on back-to-back errors to cut the lead to 5-3. In the bottom half, the Eagles pushed across a run on a Preston Hicks single that would end up being very important before the night was over. In the seventh, starter JT Moorer retired the first two batters and even after a walk looked ready to end the game, but an infield error on a nonchalant throw kept the Trojan’s hopes alive. The next batter hit a two-run single to shrink the lead to 6-5. A pinch runner was inserted at first and promptly stole second base to put the game tying run in scoring position. On a 3-1 pitch, Moorer got the final out of the game on a fly out to Thomas Stovall for the narrow 6-5 triumph. Moorer impressed on the mound with a complete game effort in which he gave up only six hits with three strikeouts. At the plate, it was a total team effort as eight of the nine batters collected one hit while five different players scored runs and five drove in runs.
JT Moorer pitches a gem against the Trojans.
Alabama Christian plays a doubleheader in Dadeville on Saturday for their next outing.