ACA Splits Area Games with Catholic

The Eagles split a key Area match up with Catholic as the girls defeated the Knights 4-0, but the boys were beaten 3-2 in double overtime. The win kept the Lady Eagles undefeated on the year as they moved to 7-0 with the victory and 3-0 in the Area. Three Eagles scored in the 4-0 shutout as Michaelyn Manning scored two goals while Madison Foshee and Lynleigh Stephen each scored a goal. Foshee and Piper Witcher each had an assist while Jadyn Gonzalez got the win in goal with four saves. The boys lost a tough match to Catholic in double overtime, 3-2. The loss drops the Eagles to 0-3 in the Area.

Both teams will take on MA Thursday at ACA.

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.

Late Homers Propel Lady Eagles to Win Over Opelika

Alabama Christian posted a W Monday night at Opelika thanks to some late innings heroics for a 2-1 victory. Haley Ingram and Monica Willingham hit back to back solo homers to push ACA past the Bulldogs. Rose Costanza starred in the circle and picked up the win with seven innings pitched and a career high 11 strike outs.

Both pitchers controlled the first three innings as neither team was able to score until the bottom of the fourth when Opelika scored its only run of the game. The score remained the same until the top of the sixth inning. With one out in the inning, Haley Ingram connected on a 2-2 pitch and homered to center field to tie the game, 1-1. Three pitches later, Monica Willingham sent one out to center field to give the Lady Eagles the 2-1 lead. Once she was given the lead, Rose Costanza did not allow a hit over the final two innings and struck out four of the last six batters she faced.

Alabama Christian (6-6) returns home Tuesday afternoon to take on St James.

ACA Defeats St James on Zac Westbrook's Walk-Off Homer

It should have never gotten to this point, but after blowing a twelve run lead, Alabama Christian found themselves tied 16-16 with St James in the bottom of the seventh inning. After Thomas Stovall reached on an infield single, Zac Westbrook launched the first pitch he saw to center field for the 18-16 victory.

The game was all ACA to start. Trailing 1-0 in the first, the Eagles scored four runs aided by two Trojan errors. Preston Perry and Brandon Bice both drove in a run and two runs scored on an infield error. Alabama Christian scored eight runs in the second frame to build a 12-1 lead. The first three runs of the inning scored on Trojans’ errors. Caden Perry drove in two with a single to left and Zac Westbrook drove in the last two runs of the inning with a double to right. After St James scored three runs in the top of the third, ACA responded with four of their own to take a seemingly commanding 16-4 lead after three.

Preston Perry covers first on a grounder to first.

The second half of the game belonged to the Trojans. St James chipped away at the lead every inning, going through three Eagle relievers, until they were able to tie it 16-16 in the top of the seventh. The final pitcher was Westbrook who allowed four runs in the top of the seventh. To the delight of the crowd, the senior leader was able to redeem himself and deliver the win for the Eagles with his two run blast in the bottom half.

Thomas Stovall bats against the Trojans.

As a team, the offense pounded out 14 hits while drawing six walks with three hit batsmen. Zac Westbrook finished the afternoon 5 for 5 at the plate with three doubles and a homer, driving in six runs. Thomas Stovall picked up two hits with three runs scored while Preston Perry went 2 for 3 with an RBI. Perry started for the Eagles and pitched four innings allowing five earned runs with one strike out.

The Eagles (8-3) host Holtville Tuesday in their next contest.

Zac Westbrook Named ACA Athlete of the Week

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.