Alabama Christian ended a three season playoff hiatus as they hosted St Michaels in the first round of the playoffs on Friday. The Eagles last appearance in the playoffs was in 2016 where they lost in the first round to Demopolis. ACA had only played two games over the past fourteen days and it remained to be seen whether the team was rested or rusty. The verdict was probably a little of both. After falling behind 3-2 in the third inning of game one, the Eagles outscored its opponent 22-1 over the remainder of the evening for the 10-3, 14-1 sweep.
Isaac Warrick readies to pitch against St Michaels.
Starter Isaac Warrick took the ball in game one and promptly struck out the side on just 13 pitches to begin the Eagle’s day. ACA struck first, in the second inning, as Thomas Stovall singled to drive in Jalen Clark and scored one batter later as Zac Westbrook doubled to left. The Cardinals took their only lead of the day in the third inning with a three-run homer and a 3-2 advantage headed to the bottom of the third. Alabama Christian responded immediately in their half of the frame with two runs and a 4-3 lead. The home team loaded the bases with two walks and a hit batter and scored the two runs on RBI ground outs by Preston Hicks and Hayes Hunt. Given the lead again, Warrick allowed only two more Cardinals to reach base as he shut down the St Michaels offense over the final four innings. The junior lefty finished with 14 strikeouts and allowed only three hits as he earned the game one victory. In the fourth inning, ACA added four runs as Warrick delivered the big blow with a two-run single for the 8-3 lead. The last two runs of the contest were scored in the sixth inning as Clark drove in Hunt with a single and later scored on a wild pitch for the final 10-3 margin. The bottom part of the lineup, consisting of Hayes Hunt, Jalen Clark and Thomas Stovall, sparked the offense with five of the team’s ten hits and six of the ten runs scored. Clark led the squad with a 3 for 3 performance with three runs scored and one RBI. Brandon Bice finished 2 for 3 with a run scored.
Zac Westbrook takes the mound for game two.
With the momentum squarely on the side of the Eagles, ACA looked to jump on St Michaels early and give the Cardinals little hope of a split. The offense wasted no time as Zac Westbrook led off the game with a walk and scored on a Brandon Bice double for the game’s first run. Bice would later score on a passed ball for the early 2-0 lead. In the second inning, Westbrook was in the middle of the action again as he crushed a three-run homer to center for the 5-0 advantage. The third inning saw the Eagles score four two-out runs to build a commanding 9-0 lead. Jalen Clark reached on an error and Thomas Stovall walked behind him to set up the top of the order. Westbrook scored Clark with a single to center field and Mason Prestage delivered a bases-loaded double to score three runs for the nine run cushion. In the fourth, Alabama Christian scored five more runs for the final 14-1 score. Trey Schlemmer led off the frame with a double and scored on a Hayes Hunt triple. Clark singled to score Hunt for the team’s eleventh run. Clark touched the plate as Westbrook drove in his fifth run of the game with a single to right. The final two runs were scored by Thomas Stovall on a wild pitch and Taylor Thornton who scored on a bases-loaded walk drawn by Schlemmer. Westbrook was the star of game two with a four hit, five RBI performance and picked up the win on the mound as he allowed just four hits in the complete game effort. Mason Prestage finished 2 for 4 with three RBIs while Thomas Stovall went 1 for 1 with three walks and three runs scored.
ACA will face the winner of the American Christian/Oak Grove series in the second round of the playoffs.