After being off for eleven days due to the cancellation of the Alex Wilcox tournament, ACA hosted Benjamin Russell Monday afternoon at Denise Ainsworth Field. The contest was a back and forth affair as the lead changed hands four times over the first four innings. The Eagles scored three runs in the bottom of the fourth to take the lead for good at 8-6 and tacked on five runs in the fifth and sixth frames for the 13-6 triumph. Alabama Christian scored double figures for the fourth game in a row in the victory.
Benjamin Russell scored one in the top of the first, but ACA answered with two in the bottom half on a Hayley Cassidy single and a KG Taylor sac fly. The Wildcats tied the game in the second frame, but Katie Chappell hit a long three-run home run to left field for a 5-2 lead. In the third inning, Benjamin Russell again tied the game and took the lead one inning later for a 6-5 advantage. Annabelle Pugh gave the Eagles the lead with a two-run triple over the right fielder’s head and scored on a Chappell ground out to give ACA an 8-6 lead. Alabama Christian added five runs in their last two at bats to pull away from the Wildcats for the 13-6 victory.
Annabelle Pugh led the offense with three hits in four at bats with a double and a triple and four runs driven in. Haley Ingram’s infield single extended her hitting streak to 19 games and later added a double as she finished the day with three runs scored and two RBIs. Katie Chappell was 2 for 4 with a homer and four RBIs while Skylar Crews and Izzy Warrick each had two hits. Warrick picked up the win in relief as she pitched the final four innings of the game giving up just one unearned run with two strikeouts.
ACA hosts Wetumpka on Thursday, April 1, in its next contest.