Lady Eagles Open 2020 Season

The start of Manuel Guice’s twelfth year as head coach of the volleyball program ended a streak that no one wanted to be a part of. Twenty-two weeks and two days had passed since a team from ACA competed against another school. Thursday afternoon, the Lady Eagle volleyball team ended the extended hiatus and opened the 2020 season with a match at Prattville Christian. 

This was the second year in a row that Alabama Christian began the season at PCA. ACA lost in a three game sweep to the Lady Panthers 21-25, 17-25, 15-25. Alyson Thornton led the team with eight assists and added four kills and three digs. Michaelyn Manning had a team high three aces with four kills, four assists and eight digs. Jordan Smithee contributed four kills and a block.

The Lady Eagles (0-1) next host Trinity for their home opener on Tuesday, August 25th.

ACA Loses Season Opener to Trinity

After what seemed like the longest off-season imaginable, the Eagles finally kicked off the season earlier than any other in program history on Thursday night against long-time CCC rival Trinity Presbyterian. Although the Wildcats have dominated the series historically, Alabama Christian has split the last four contests and felt very good heading into the season opener. It was a wet and dreary night, but it was great to watch high school football.

The contest started as well as possible for the Eagles as Demari Moore took the opening kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown to put ACA up 7-0, 16 seconds into the game. The Wildcats seemed rattled after the score as they had trouble getting eleven men on the field for the ensuing kickoff and quickly went three and out on their first offensive possession. To Trinity’s credit, they settled down and played a solid game after the bad start. Meanwhile, Alabama Christian seemed out of rhythm for the rest of the night after the opening play. The Eagles managed just 111 yards of offense and turned the ball over three times. Jalen Clark led the team with 38 yards on 13 carries and also threw for 57 yards completing five of eight passes. Preston Hicks was Clark’s top target with three receptions for 22 yards.

The Wildcats held a 17-7 lead going to the half and put the offense in low gear to chew up the clock in the second half. Trinity held the ball for 14 minutes in the half and added a score for a 24-7 cushion. Jack Thomas led the defensive effort with 11 tackles. Trey Schlemmer added eight tackles while Miller McCarthy contributed seven tackles.

Next week, ACA (0-1) travels to Highland Home to take on the Flying Squadron.

Eagles Swept by MA in Area Tilt

In both the boys and girls contests against MA Thursday night, MA was able to control the game and played the majority of the night on the ACA side of the field. The girls suffered their first loss of the year as they fell 8-0 to the Eagles of MA and move to 3-1 in Area play. Goalie Jadyn Gonzalez had a very busy night and was able to make 14 saves, but the offensive attack proved too much for the Lady Eagle defense. The boys experienced many of the same things the girls did as MA kept constant pressure on the ACA defense and came away with a 6-0 victory over the home standing Eagles. ACA allowed only one goal in the second half, but MA had put the game out of reach by halftime.

The Lady Eagles host Prattville Friday night in a make-up game and then both varsity teams will be off over spring break.

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.

Eagles Drop Home Game to Holtville

The Bulldogs from Holtville scored five in the top of the first and never looked back in a 7-3 defeat of ACA. Holtville’s first six batters reached safely in the five run frame. After the first, the Eagle pitchers settled down and allowed only two more sixth inning runs, but the game had been decided in the first.

Alabama Christian scored one run in the third inning on a Zac Westbrook ground out that scored Jalen Clark. The Eagles scored two more in the sixth on a Preston Perry sac fly which plated Mason Prestage and a Trey Schlemmer single to center that knocked in Brandon Bice. Six different players each had a hit for the ACA attack. JT Moorer started and took the loss as he went 4 2/3 innings with four walks and four strikeouts. Copeland Hilyer pitched the final 2 1/3 to finish the night.

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.