Zac Westbrook helped Alabama Christian go 3-0 in the Jason Armstrong Memorial Tournament to earn Athlete of the Week honors. Westbrook hit .600 (6 for 10) in the trio of games with a homer and six RBIs while scoring six runs. The senior shortstop capped off his week with an inside the park homer against Billingsley at Riverwalk Stadium. Westbrook leads the Eagles for the season with a .464 batting average in addition to leading the team in runs scored, RBIs and walks.
ACA Track Team Competes in Auburn Early Bird Meet
The track and field team traveled to Auburn on Saturday to participate in the Auburn Early Bird Meet. The Lady Eagles finished in the top ten in a couple of events at the meet. In the 4x800 relay, the team of Kate Finch, Kyndall Foley, Emma Russell and Bailey Bowen finished third out of eleven teams with a time of 11:37.24. In the high jump, Madison Parker (4 ft 6 inches) finished eighth and Valorie Jeffers (4 ft 4 inches) finished tenth out of 24 competitors. No boys finished in the top ten on the day. Bryan Farrington’s eleventh place finish in the shot put was the top placement for the boys.
Alabama Christian will next compete in the River Region Invitational in Selma on March 20th.
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.
Eagles Win Two to Finish 3-0 in Armstrong Tournament
ACA defeated Luverne and Billingsley on the last day of the Jason Armstrong Memorial Tournament to finish undefeated over their two days of play. Changes were made to the schedule due to bad weather during the week, but the Eagles took the adjustments in stride for the two wins on Saturday
ACA 14 Luverne 5
The offense was sluggish to start against Luverne, but once the scoring started, the Eagles scored 14 runs in four innings. Zac Westbrook led the offensive barrage with a 4 for 5 game with three RBIs and three runs scored. KJ Kendrick went 3 for 5 with four RBIs and two runs scored while Mason Prestage had three hits in five at bats driving in two runs.
The Eagles opened the scoring in the third inning as the first four batters reached and scored. ACA sent ten men to the plate and opened up a 5-0 lead. The offense tacked on two more runs in the fourth as both KJ Kendrick and Mason Prestage delivered RBI singles. Zac Westbrook delivered a run scoring single in the fifth to give ACA a commanding 8-0 lead. The sixth and final inning saw both teams score eleven runs as Luverne scored five in the top half, which was answered by the Eagles’ six runs in the bottom half. KJ Kendrick knocked in two with a two out single to finish the scoring for Alabama Christian. Copeland Hilyer picked up the victory with five innings of shut out baseball with six strikeouts.
Zac Westbrook bats against Billingsley.
ACA 13 Billingsley 2
The offense wasted no time in the last game of the Armstrong Tournament as the Eagles sent ten men to the plate and scored four runs in the opening frame. The big hit was a two run double by Brandon Bice that drove in Preston Perry and Mason Prestage. in the third inning, Zac Westbrook had a two run inside the park homer with a deep drive to the right field corner to highlight a four run inning. The fourth inning produced four more runs for Alabama Christian as Bice drove in two more runs with a single to center. The junior second baseman would finish the game with five RBIs with a 2 for 3 night at the plate. KJ Kendrick and Mason Prestage each had two hits to help lead the offense.
KJ Kendrick pitches in the first inning against Billingsley.
KJ Kendrick pitched a five inning complete game for ACA to pick up the win against the Bears. The defense helped the Eagle starter with double plays in the first three innings. The senior starter struck out four and allowed just two runs and gave the ACA coaches the luxury of saving the rest of the staff for important games next week.
ACA Opens with Victory in Armstrong Memorial Tournament
The Eagles were finally able to play their first game in the Jason Armstrong Memorial Tournament Friday night. ACA shut out Pike Road 5-0 at Riverwalk Stadium in downtown Montgomery.
Neither team was able to score through the first two and a half innings and combined for only one hit between the two offenses. Jalen Clark opened the bottom of the third with a single to left on an 0-1 count. With one out, Zac Westbrook drove in Clark for the first run of the game. Two batters later, Preston Perry’s ground out scored Westbrook. The final run of the inning was produced when Mason Prestage singled in KJ Kendrick.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Alabama Christian tacked on two runs for a more comfortable 5-0 lead. The inning began with a walk and a Patriot error to put two on with no outs. The Eagles played ABC baseball as the next two batters drove in runs with productive outs.
The five runs scored by the offense were more than enough for the pitching combination of JT Moorer and Preston Perry. Moorer, who started the contest, pitched a strong five innings while surrendering just one hit while striking out four Patriots to pick up the victory. Perry threw the final two innings and shut down any hope Pike Road may have had as he struck out four of the seven batters faced to record the save.
ACA will face Luverne and Billingsley tomorrow as they wrap up play in the Armstrong Tournament.
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 Notch Second Area Win Against LAMP
After a week of dealing with more rain than anyone cares to think about, ACA (6-0) remained undefeated with an 11-1 drubbing of the Golden Tigers. The vast majority of the contest was spent on the LAMP side of the field as the Eagle offense dominated play. The Alabama Christian attack kept the pressure on all night as they had 32 shots on goal, compared to just the three saves that winning goalie Jadyn Gonzalez made. Michaelyn Manning paced the ACA team with five goals and an assist. Presley Lewis and Madison Foshee each scored twice while Marlo Duggan and Katelyn Sutton added one goal apiece.
Michaelyn Manning recognized between the girls and boys games for scoring record.
The boys faced a tough LAMP squad and came up a little short in a 2-0 loss Friday night. The loss dropped ACA to 0-2 in the Area and 4-3 overall on the season. The game was closely contested throughout, but the Eagles could not break through on the night. LAMP was able to do just enough to secure the victory.
Both teams will host Catholic in another Area contest on Tuesday.
Record Setter Michaelyn Manning Named ACA Athlete of the Week
Michaelyn Manning scored a school record seven goals against Catholic and became the program’s all time leader in goals scored. The junior stands at 121 goals for her career and is 20 goals away from breaking into the top ten for goals scored in the state of Alabama. Manning’s offensive prowess has helped the Lady Eagles to a 5-0 start on the year.
Track and Field Season Opens in Opelika
Alabama Christian began the outdoor season at the Opelika Invitational Saturday. ACA was one of 13 schools who competed in the first meet of the year. Kate Finch won the 3200m run with a time of 13:23.24 for the Eagles only first place finish and several other competitors finished in the top ten of their respective events.
In the girls division, three Eagles, Kyndall Foley (5th), Kate Finch (6th) and Emma Russell (9th), finished in the top ten of the 800m. In the 1600m race, Kyndall Foley finished fifth and Kate Finch finished seventh out of 31 competitors. in the field events, Madison Parker finished fifth in the long jump out of 30 participants. Amaya Smith (6th) and Baily DiNunzio (9th) both finished in the top ten of the discus throw. DiNunzio also finished sixth in the javelin while Timia Nelson finished fifth in the shot put.
In the boys division, Alexander Costanza placed fifth in both the 1600m and 3200m runs. Lane Kilpatrick finished ninth in the 800m race while Michael Smith finished eighth in the 3200m. The relay team of Connor Strowbridge, Jalen Clark, Noah Silmon and Garrett Weathers finished tied for second in the 4x400 relay. In the field events, Jaron Craddock (9th) and Jalen Clark (10th) both finished in the top ten in the discus while Bryan Farrington finished fifth in the shot put with a distance of 40 feet 11 inches.
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.
Michaelyn Manning's 121 Career Goals Scored Sets New School Record
Junior Michaelyn Manning scored seven goals Friday night to give her 121 career goals scored. Manning moved past Janie Szoboszlay as she set the new mark. Manning’s performance sparked a 10-0 victory over Catholic in the Lady Eagles area opener. The win improved the Eagles record to 5-0 on the year. Madison Foshee scored two goals with five assists and Marlo Duggan added one goal against the Knights. ACA will host LAMP on Tuesday, March 3, for their next contest.
Eagles Dominate Brew Tech in Doubleheader Sweep
ACA run ruled Brew Tech twice on Friday with an impressive sweep of the Rams. The Eagles blanked Brew Tech 10-0 in game one and followed it up with 13-2 blow out in game two.
Zac Westbrook was the star of game one as he held Brew Tech hitless in the 10-0 shutout. Westbrook pitched five innings with five strikeouts on only 62 pitches. The Eagles scored two runs in the first inning on just one hit to jump to a 2-0 lead. In the second inning, Thomas Stovall doubled in Caden Perry and later scored a run with Taylor Thornton on a KJ Kendrick single. JT Moorer drove in the lone run of the third inning with a sac fly that scored Brandon Bice. The last four runs scored by Alabama Christian came in the fourth inning. The first three Eagles reached base to load the bases. Bice singled to right to drive in the first run of the inning and Copeland Hilyer knocked the next run in on a ground out to second. The final two runs were driven by Caden Perry on a single to center to drive in Mason Prestage and Bice. Brandon Bice, KJ Kendrick and Caden Perry each collected two hits to pace the offense.
Brandon Bice readies himself for the pitch.
After giving up a run in the top of the first inning, ACA responded with two runs and never trailed again in game two. Alabama Christian tacked on five more runs, all with two outs, in the second inning to take a commanding 7-1 lead. The key blow of the frame was a two run single by Brandon Bice to drive in Thomas Stovall and Mason Prestage. In the fourth inning, ACA tacked on four more runs to close out the scoring. Taylor Thornton drove in Hayes Hunt with a two out single followed by a Jalen Clark single that knocked in Bice. The final two runs were driven in on a Zac Westbrook triple to right field. At the plate, Westbrook led the attack going 2 for 3 with a double and a triple, driving in two runs. Taylor Thornton added two hits with an RBI and three runs scored. Four pitchers combined to hold the Rams to two runs on four hits and four strikeouts.
ACA Opens Season at Robert Trent Jones in Prattville
The ACA golf team opened the season Tuesday at the PCA Boys and Girls Invitational. Mitchell Hagan, Mikey Peavy, Logan Reynolds and Andrew Whang represented Alabama Chrisitan at the Capital Hill Course in Prattville. Whang shot 88 for the best score posted by the Eagles followed by Hagan’s 109, Reynolds’ 111 and Peavy’s 115.
The Eagles will compete against Pike Road in its next match on March 5 at Arrowhead Country Club.
Lady Eagles Defeat Brew Tech in Home Opener
After ACA’s first two home games were cancelled due to weather, the third time was the charm as the Eagles hosted Brew Tech Wednesday afternoon. Alabama Christian jumped out to an early 7-0 lead and held on for the 14-6 victory. The Rams’ offense showed signs of life in the middle innings, but the Lady Eagles proved to be the superior team.
Starting pitcher Haley Pittman prepares for the pitch.
Senior Haley Pittman (3-0) earned the victory going seven innings, giving up six hits with ten strikeouts. At the plate, Haylee Ingram helped lead the Eagles with a 4 for 5 performance. Lawson Borland and Monica Willingham each collected two hits on the afternoon.
ACA (3-1) travels to Auburn this weekend to participate in the Auburn Varsity Tournament. Play begins for the Eagles Friday at 4:00.
ACA Easily Handles PCA
Alabama Christian (2-3) scored four runs in the first inning and never looked back in an 11-1 thumping of PCA. Copeland Hilyer delivered the big hit of the inning with a two run double scoring Mason Prestage and Brandon Bice. The Eagle offense continued to produce in the second inning as Zac Westbrook doubled in a run. Four more runs in the fourth inning put the game out of reach as Westbrook and Preston Perry both doubled in a run to help build a 10-1 lead. The game ended in the fifth as Perry drove in Thomas Stovall to give ACA a ten run lead.
Preston Perry dominated on the mound as he allowed only one run and four hits on just 72 pitches over five innings. At the plate, Zac Westbrook led the Eagles with two hits in three at bats with two doubles, two RBIs and three runs scored. Preston Perry drove in three runs on a 1 for 3 night as Copeland Hilyer had two RBIs.
Alabama Christian will play host to Brew Tech in a Friday doubleheader in their next contest.
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.
Eagles Lose Home Opener to Stanhope Elmore
After a week of heavy rains, Alabama Christian (1-3) was able to take the field to face Stanhope Elmore Friday night. The ACA offense continued to struggle as the Eagles mustered only three hits against Mustang pitching. Starting pitcher JT Moorer (0-2) held the Mustangs without a run in four of the five innings he pitched. Through the first three innings, Moorer allowed only two hits with a strikeout on just 32 pitches. The Stanhope Elmore offense woke up in the fourth inning as they scored four runs on five hits, including three doubles to take a 4-0 lead. Moorer would last five innings and gave up seven hits and four runs with two strikeouts. Copeland Hilyer pitched two scoreless innings to finish the game. Caden Perry collected two of the team’s three hits in two at bats while Zac Westbrook had one hit in three plate appearances.
Alabama Christian Splits President's Day Doubleheader
ACA spent the holiday in scenic Notasulga to play a doubleheader against Reeltown and Elmore County. The Eagles split the two games, as they defeated Reeltown 10-4 and lost to Elmore County 13-1 to make their record 1-2 on the young season.
In the opener, ACA jumped ahead of Reeltown with four runs in the top of the first inning to take an early lead. The Rebel defense committed four errors in the inning which led directly to two of the Eagles runs. In the top of the fourth, Alabama Christian struck again with four more runs. The key hit of the inning was a two out double by Preston Perry which scored Thomas Stovall and KJ Kendrick. Two batters later, Copeland Hilyer drew a bases loaded walk to extend the lead to 8-1. ACA scored their last two runs of the game in the sixth inning as Zac Westbrook scored on a wild pitch and Preston Perry scored on a Mason Prestage ground out.
Preston Perry finished the contest with three hits in four at bats with two runs driven in and two runs scored. Mason Prestage finished the game 2 for 3 with an RBI and a run scored. Perry not only excelled at the plate, but pitched a solid game as he picked up the win for the Eagles. The starter went four innings and struck out seven batters while he gave up only one earned run. Brandon Bice and Chase Madrid pitched the final three innings to close out the game.
The nightcap went the Eagles way for the first two innings against Elmore County. ACA scored a first inning run when Thoams Stovall scored on an infield error by the Panthers. The score remained the same until the top of the third inning when Elmore County erupted for seven runs. The Panthers put together five hits with two walks to take a commanding 7-1 lead over the Eagles. ACA would muster no runs and only one hit over the final two innings. Meanwhile, Elmore County tacked on six more runs for the 13-1 victory. KJ Kendrick collected the only hit for the Eagles. Zac Westbrook took the loss as he gave up seven runs over three innings.
Dalton Hutchinson Earns ACA Athlete of the Week Honors
Dalton Hutchinson helped ACA to an undefeated week and a tournament championship to be named Athlete of the Week. Hutchinson paced the offense scoring 13 of the team’s 24 goals and was able to score in all four games played during the week. Alabama Christian defeated BTW twice, Wetumpka and Saint James to improve the Eagles record to 4-1 on the season.