Lady Eagles Split Four in Auburn Tournament

Alabama Christian won two and lost two at the Auburn tournament on Friday and Saturday.

In game one, ACA fell to Central-Phenix City, 11-4. After giving up two runs in the first inning, the Eagles responded with two runs in the top of the second on a Skylar Crews single and a Lawson Borland ground out. Central scored five runs in the bottom half as seven consecutive batters reached after two outs in the inning. Hayley Cassidy drove in the third Eagle run in the third inning to make the score 7-3. Central hit a couple of homers late in the game to go on to the 11-4 win. Cassidy finished 2 for 3 with an RBI to lead the ACA offense. Izzy Warrick was the losing pitcher as she lasted two innings. Cassidy pitched four innings in relief to finish the game.

In the second game of the night, Rose Costanza stepped up when the team really needed it as the Eagles stopped a four game losing streak with a 3-0 win over Lawrence County. In the circle, the senior pitcher shut out the Red Devils over seven innings with five strikeouts and no walks. ACA scored all of their runs in the first inning as Annabelle Pugh led off with a walk and moved to third base on a Haley Ingram double. Costanza helped her own cause with a two run single and KG Taylor had an RBI double for the third run.

Saturday started against Dale County, who ACA last played in the 2019 State playoffs. The Lady Eagles jumped out quickly thanks to a first inning grand slam by KG Taylor for an early 4-0 lead. ACA extended the lead in the second inning with four more runs as Izzy Warrick and Haley Ingram had RBI singles, Rose Costanza delivered a run scoring sac bunt and Hayley Cassidy doubled in a run. Starting pitcher, Izzy Warrick took advantage of the runs scored in support and pitched five innings for the win. The right-hander had to deal with several base runners, but never allowed Dale County to put together a big inning. The Lady Eagles added two runs as the game progressed for the 10-6 win. Ingram and Warrick both had three hits and an RBI to lead the offense while Hayley Cassidy went 2 for 3 with a double and a run driven in.

The last game of the weekend was against Beauregard and the Eagles just could not get off the field with the elusive third out. Beauregard scored all eleven of their runs in the four inning contest with two outs. ACA was never able to string enough hits together to score runs in the 11-0 loss. Rose Costanza was the losing pitcher as she lasted just 1 2/3 innings. At the plate, Lawson Borland, Hayley Cassidy, Haley Ingram and Annabelle Pugh each had singles for Alabama Christian.

ACA next plays at Benjamin Russell in Alexander City on Thursday, March 4th.

Lady Eagles Beaten by Catholic in Close Game

The Lady Eagles were looking to improve from their weekend tournament at Lagoon as they hosted Catholic on Tuesday afternoon. Haley Ingram led off the game with a single, stole second and came home on a Rose Costanza single to give ACA a 1-0 lead after one. In the circle, Costanza kept the Knights off the board in her three innings of work with three strikeouts. However, the Eagles managed only one hit over the next three innings and held a slim 1-0 lead going to the fifth. Catholic scored two runs in the top of the fifth on an Eagle error and a single to take their first lead of the game. Ingram was again the spark plug for the offense as she led off the bottom half with a double into the left field gap and later scored with two outs on a passed ball to tie the game. The Knights scored two runs in the top of the seventh without getting a hit as they drew four walks, one intentional, in the frame for the two run lead. Warrick led off the last inning with a double down the left field line and scored when Costanza knocked her in to cut the lead to 4-3, but Costanza remained at first as the next three batters made outs and the Eagles fell 4-3.

Izzy Warrick in the circle for ACA.

Costanza finished the day with three hits in four at bats with two runs driven in while Ingram was 2 for 4 with a double and two runs scored. Lawson Borland and Warrick had the only other hits for the Eagle’s offense while Haley Oswald drew two walks. Hayley Cassidy took the loss in relief giving up two runs over two innings with two strikeouts.

Rose Costanza bats against Catholic.

The Lady Eagles travel to Auburn for the weekend for tournament action on Friday and Saturday.

ACA Kicks Off Season at Brew Tech Tournament

The Lady Eagles, along with eighteen other teams, began their season where they hope to be at the end as they participated in the Brew Tech tournament at Lagoon Park. Alabama Christian is the defending 4A state champs, due to the 2020 season being cut short. The Eagles drew PCA in game one on Friday afternoon and fell to the Panthers, 4-3. PCA opened the scoring with two runs in the bottom of the first inning via a passed ball and a solo homer. The ACA offense came alive in the third inning as Izzy Warrick delivered a three-run blast to give the Eagles a 3-2 advantage. However, PCA responded with two more solo shots in the bottom half of the inning to retake the lead 4-3. The Lady Eagles loaded the bases in the final frame with two outs, but were unable to push across any runs. Rose Costanza took the loss as she gave up four runs on only three hits and struck out five.

Game two of the evening was against Beauregard and the Eagles evened their record to 1-1 with the 5-4 victory. After giving up a run in the top of the third, ACA responded with three runs in the bottom half, highlighted by Izzy Warrick and Rose Costanza’s back to back doubles and an RBI ground out by Hayley Cassidy. Beauregard hit a three run homer to retake the lead in the top of the fourth before the Eagles last at bat. Annabelle Pugh drove in Lawson Borland with an RBI double to tie the score at 4-4. After a Haley Ingram walk loaded the bases, Warrick singled home Ava Oates for the game winning hit. In addition to her offensive success in the game, Warrick picked up the win in the circle as she gave up two earned runs and struck out four over four innings.

Izzy Warrick pictured with her first home run ball of her ACA career.

Saturday began against the host school, Brew Tech, in the final pool game for the Eagles. Haley Ingram doubled on the first pitch she saw to lead off the game for ACA and later scored on a Rose Costanza ground out for a 1-0 lead after an inning. However, over the next four innings, the offense produced only two more hits and just three total base runners as the Eagles hit ground ball after ground ball against the Brew Tech hurler. Despite the lack of offense, ACA only trailed 2-1 heading into the final inning, but allowed five Ram runs in the frame for the 7-1 final score. Hayley Cassidy took the loss in the circle as she struck out three over five innings. Besides Ingram, Haley Oswald and Hayley Cassidy were the only other Eagles to collect a hit.

Hayley Cassidy bats against Brew Tech.

In the final game of their day, ACA took on Lincoln in elimination play. Neither team scored in the first two innings as starting pitcher Rose Costanza worked out of a bases loaded jam in the second. KG Taylor opened the third inning with a walk and eventually scored on Costanza’s two-out single for a 1-0 lead. The bottom half of the inning saw Lincoln score four times as the Eagle defense hurt itself with a lack of communication, indecision with the ball, wild pitches and passed balls that played a part in the runs given up. The offense had no answer as the Eagles did not score over the last two frames. Costanza took the loss despite giving up just three hits and only one earned run over 4 2/3 innings and struck out 11 batters. Costanza, Haley Ingram and Taylor were the only Eagles with hits in the contest.

Lady Eagles Lose Heart Breaker at St James

For the second time this week, St James did just enough to defeat ACA. The Eagles scored two runs in the first and held a 4-1 lead going to the bottom of the sixth when the Lady Trojans put together a four run inning and claimed a 5-4 victory over the Eagles. Rose Costanza took the loss in the circle despite another solid outing. The junior pitcher allowed only one hit and one run through the first five innings, but in the fateful sixth St James collected three hits with two walks to rally their offense. ACA went down 1-2-3 in the seventh to close out the game.

Haley Pittman gets ready for one of her four hits against St James.

Senior Haley Pittman carried the offense with a 4 for 4 performance with three doubles and two RBIs. Four other Eagles, Rose Costanza, Aniya Jackson, Haley Oswald and Monica Willingham, each collected one hit on the afternoon. The Lady Eagles also drew seven walks as a team off the Trojan’s pitching.

ACA (6-8) will participate in a tournament over the weekend at PCA before taking some time off over spring break.

Lady Eagles Fall to St James

The ACA offense continued to struggle Tuesday in a 3-1 loss to St James at Denise Ainsworth Field. The loss was the sixth straight game the Lady Eagles scored four runs or less. Alabama Christian had their chances late to tie the game, but could not deliver the key hit. The sixth inning ended with runners at second and third and the seventh ended with the bases loaded. Rose Costanza produced another solid outing in the circle as she pitched all seven innings and gave up three runs with six strikeouts. Three Eagles, Haley Cassidy, Haley Pittman and Monica Willingham, each contributed two hits on the afternoon.

Alabama Christian (6-7) will face St James again on Thursday for their next outing.

Lady Eagles Drop Both Games on Second Day of Wetumpka Tournament

After winning their first game on Friday night, the Eagles returned to the Wetumpka Tournament Saturday and were beaten by Tallassee and PCA. ACA falls to 5-6 on the season with the two losses.

ACA 1 Tallassee 13

ACA pitched two seventh graders in the opener against Tallassee as Mya Moskowitz started against the Tigers and Izzy Warrick pitched in relief. The pair gave up only two hits, but walked eight batters and had five errors committed behind them in an uncharacteristic game for the defense. The Lady Eagles lone run came off an Aniya Jackson ground out that drove in Monica Willingham in the first inning. Rose Costanza, Haylee Ingram and Moskowitz each delivered one hit for Alabama Christian.

ACA 0 PCA 2

PCA scored two runs in the top of the first on a sac fly and a wild pitch and the score did not change for the rest of the game. ACA was unable to produce any offense against the Panther pitcher as Monica Willingham produced the teams only hit in the fourth inning. Twelve of the fifteen Alabama Christian outs came via the strike out. Rose Costanza pitched a strong game for the Lady Eagles with four strikeouts in five innings, but took the loss due to the ineffectiveness of the offense.

ACA travels to Opelika on Monday for their next game.

Alabama Christian Opens Wetumpka Tournament with Victory

ACA (5-4) scored single runs in the second, third and fourth innings and held Prattville to a single run for a 3-1 win on the first day of the Wetumpka Tournament. The Lady Eagles faced two rain outs during the week and are looking forward to playing this weekend.

Rose Costanza pitched an impressive game as she held the Lions to only two hits over four innings and one unearned run. The junior starter struck out five batters and allowed only four base runners on the night. ACA opened the scoring in the second as Annabelle Pugh doubled in Lawson Borland. One inning later, the Lady Eagles increased the lead to 2-0 when Aniya Jackson delivered a two out single that scored Chandler Brewer. After Prattville scored an unearned run in the bottom of the third, ACA responded in the next half inning with an important run. After the first two batters struck out, four consecutive batters reached to produce an insurance run. With two gone, Haylee Ingram singled to right followed by a Prattville error to put runners on first and second. Rose Costanza singled to left to load the bases and pinch hitter, Haley Oswald knocked in Ingram with a single to right for the final run. At the plate, Ingram led the offense with two hits in three at bats and a run scored.

ACA will face Tallassee Saturday morning to start day two of the tournament.

Lady Eagles Drop Three of Four in Auburn Tournament

ACA faced tough competition this weekend in Auburn and managed to win only one of four games in the two day tournament. On Friday, the Eagles were beaten by Providence Christian, 11-1, and Chelsea, 10-2. Saturday, Alabama Christian returned to the field and split two games, beating Auburn, 8-5, and losing to Dale County, for the second time this year, 12-4.

In the opener Friday, Alabama Christian trailed 2-0 in a tight contest after three innings. Providence Christian blew the game open over the final three frames, scoring in every inning, to cruise to an 11-1 victory. ACA pounded out 12 hits in the game, but could never get the key hit to put runs on the board and stranded a dozen runners on the night. ACA’s lone run came on a Haylee Ingram solo homer to lead off the fifth inning. Aniya Jackson was 3 for 3 and Skylar Crews and Haylee Ingram each delivered two hits. Rose Costanza had a 2 for 3 night and made her season debut in the circle in relief of Haley Pittman.

In the nightcap Friday, the Lady Eagles played Chelsea and were beaten 10-2. ACA scored their only two runs in the second inning as Aniya Jackson doubled in Monica Willingham and Haley Oswald knocked Jackson in with a two out single. Chelsea responded with seven runs in the bottom half and would win the contest by eight runs.

Saturday opened with an 8-5 victory against Auburn. ACA trailed the Tigers 5-2 entering the fifth inning and the fireworks started for the Eagles. Monica Willingham and Haley Cassidy reached base on an error and a walk, respectively, and were driven in by Aniya Jackson who homered to center field to tie the game, 5-5. Three batters later, Hayley Pittman matched Jackson with a three run homer of her own, driving in Lawson Borland and Annabelle Pugh for the 8-5 lead. Rose Costanza picked up her first win of the year going the distance with five strikeouts over five innings.

The final game of the weekend was a rematch from last weekend against Dale County. ACA scored four runs in the top of the second to take a 4-1 lead, but Dale County responded with 11 runs over the next four innings for the 12-4 victory. Monica Willingham led the attack with a 2 for 3 outing with two RBIs. In the circle, Mya Moskowitz made her ACA debut with 1 1/3 innings of relief.

Alabama Christian (4-4) will visit Stanhope Elmore on Tuesday for their next game.

Rose Costanza Named ACA Athlete of the Week

Rose Costanza earned ACA Athlete of the Week with her steady play on the opening weekend of the softball season. The infielder helped the Lady Eagles win two of three games in the Sidney Cooper Invitational. Costanza hit .571 (4 for 7) over three games with two doubles and two RBIs and drove in the year’s first run against Hazel Green. In the final game of the weekend, Costanza had an important sacrifice to move the tying run into scoring position. The junior’s sacrifice was the 23rd of her career, which ranks ninth in school history.

Alabama Christian Wins Two Out of Three Games in Sidney Cooper Invitational

The 2019 4A State Champs began defense of their crown Saturday in Columbus, GA in the Sidney Cooper Invitational. The Lady Eagles won two out of three games as they defeated Hazel Green, 2-1, and Smiths Station, 4-2. ACA was defeated by Dale County in the weekend’s only loss.

In the season opener, the Eagles scored in the top of the first inning to take an early 1-0 lead. Rose Costanza drove Haylee Ingram with a two out single to knock in the season’s first run. Hazel Green homered in the bottom half to tie the score, 1-1. In the sixth inning, with the score still tied 1-1, Haley Pittman singled to right field and drove in Chandler Brewer for the game winning run. Pittman held the Trojans scoreless in the bottom of the sixth with the help of centerfielder Haylee Ingram’s double play to end the game. Pittman picked up the win for ACA allowing just one run with 10 strikeouts. Rose Costanza went 3 for 3 with a double and a run driven in while Haylee Ingram collected two hits in three at bats with a run scored.

In the second game of the day, Hayley Cassidy took the circle for the Lady Eagles. Dale County was able to score eight runs over the first three innings to take a commanding 8-0 lead. Down 10-0 in the fifth inning, ACA scored three runs in the bottom half to finish the scoring in the contest. Hayley Cassidy (0-1) took the loss while Izzy Warrick made her debut appearance in the circle as she pitched the final two innings. Five Eagles collected a single hit while Rose Costanza, Haylee Ingram and Monica Willingham all drove in one run.

Haley Pittman returned to the circle for the final game of the day against Smiths Station. Through the first two innings the two teams combined for only three hits as neither team was able to score. ACA opened the scoring in the third inning when Haley Pittman drove in Haylee Ingram on a 1-1 pitch. Smiths Station responded with a two run homer in the fourth inning to take a 2-1 lead heading to the fifth frame. Pittman led off the fifth inning with a single and Landon Justice entered as a courtesy runner. After being moved to second base on a Rose Costanza sacrifice, Justice scored the tying run on a Monica Willingham double to center field. Haley Oswald drove in the game winning run as she singled to center for a 3-2 lead. Chandler Brewer’s bases loaded walk closed out the scoring for the 4-2 victory. Pittman (2-0) struck out seven as she picked up her second win of the year. At the plate, Pittman was 2 for 3 with an RBI while Haley Oswald went for 2 for 2 with a run driven in.

ACA visits Wetumpka Monday night in their next contest.