SOFTBALL
10 St James, 2 Pike Road
PIKE ROAD — St. James ace Emily Needham pitched a no-hitter into the seventh inning and Pike Road’s defense helped her cause with six errors as the Trojans beat the Patriots 10-2 on Thursday.
Needham allowed just two hits and two runs over seven innings while walking four and striking out 12. Pike Road picked up its first hit in the seventh when Addison Bellew led off with a single. She went to second base on a wild pitch and scored Christina Juarez.
Pike Road, meanwhile, committed six errors in the field, leading to eight unearned runs. Haley Melton took the loss, allowing six runs on eight hits in five innings while striking out three.
Peyton Dees went 3 for 4 with a triple and drove in five runs, while Tat Shuford went 2 for 5 with a double and drove in a run. Sydney Johnston went 1 for 5 and scored three runs and Emily Darby went 1 for 2 and scored a run and drove in another.
St. James (7-6-1) begins play Monday at the Gulf Coast Classic in Gulf Shores, while Pike Road will take a week off for spring break and resume play March 28 at Catholic.
Prattville 10, Dothan 7
PRATTVILLE — Kaylee Robles hit a pair of doubles and Kaytie Chandler homered as Prattville topped Dothan 10-7 in a key 7A Area 3 game Thursday.
Kylie Jarman earned the win in the circle, going five innings with six strikeouts. Chandler pitched the final two innings, striking out one to pick up the save.
At the plate, Robles went 3 for 4 with two doubles and a triple, scoring twice and knocking in a run. Sarah Grace Jones went 2 for 3 with a double and two RBIs and a run scored, Grace Easterling went 1 for 2 with a double and 3 RBIs and a run scored, Chandler went 1 for 4 with a home run and 2 RBIs,
Mandy Kate Lindsey went 2 for 3 with a run scored and Zandia Bozeman went 1 for 3 with a double and an RBI and a run scored.
Prattville (12-12) improved to 3-1 in area play and will return to action Thursday at home against top-ranked Thompson at 4:30 p.m.
BASEBALL
Alabama Christian 12, Tallassee 5
Mac Moorer and Landon Nelson drove in a pair of runs as the Eagles beat Tallassee 12-5 on Thursday at the AUM Baseball Complex.
Hayes Hunt went 2 for 4 with an RBI and was also the winning pitcher, striking out seven and allowing just three hits and three earned runs over six innings.
Moorer went 2 for 4 and drove in a pair of runs, Preston Hicks went 2 for 3 with an RBI, Nelson went 1 for 4 and drove in a pair of runs and Ari Bowman went 2 for 4 with an RBI.
Alabama Christian travels to Brew Tech for a game on Friday before beginning play in the Gulf Coast Classic in Gulf Shores on Monday against Little Rock Christian Academy.
Catholic 11-7, Booker T. Washington 1-0
The Knights opened 4A Area 4 play with a Booker T. Washington doubleheader Thursday, beating the Eagles 11-1 in the opener and 7-0 in the game.
Josh Palmer and Alex Fleet each had one hit to lead Catholic’s offense in the first game, while Justin Rose was the winner, allowing two hits and a run over 3.2 innings while striking out six and striking out one.
Curtis Calhoun took the loss, allowing 10 runs on one hit in 3.2 innings of work.
In the second game, Andrew Noel and Caden Ishman combined to throw a shutout. Noell allowed just one hit over five innings while striking out eight and striking out no batters.
Catholic broke the game open with a three-run fifth highlighted by RBIs from Hudson Parrish and Caleb McCreary.
Candarius Green went 2 for 3 to lead Booker T. Washington.
Catholic (9-6) improved to 2-0 in area play and will play host to Brew Tech on Monday.
Prattville 9-5, Opelika 12-2
PRATTIVALE — The Lions split a matchup with the Bulldogs on Wednesday at Roger Lambert Field, dropping the first game 12-9 before salvaging the split with a 5-2 victory in the second game.
Early on, the Lions fell behind 7-0 early and cut the deficit to 7-5 in the bottom of the fourth. Again, after falling behind 12-5, they rallied to a 12-9 margin with the tying run in the bottom of the seventh, but were unable to capitalize.
Offensive leaders included junior Ashton Cannon, who went 2-for-3 with a double, a walk and three RBIs, while senior Drew Jolley went 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, two RBIs and a run scored.
Junior Andrew Hicks (1-2) started on the mound and allowed five runs, two earned, on six hits with two strikeouts and two walks in 1.2 innings. Senior Will Baskin threw 1.1 innings, giving up two runs with a strikeout and a walk, while junior Nate Lunsford went two innings and allowed four runs, three earned, with five hits and a strikeout. Senior Braden Smith pitched the final two innings, allowing one unearned run on two hits while striking out two, striking out one and walking one.
The Lions bounced back in game two with strong defense and solid pitching from junior Zach Irvey (3-1), who earned the win, surrendering just two runs, one earned, on five hits with two strikeouts and a walk over 4.2 innings . Junior Grant Williams held the lead with no runs on any hits as he walked two and walked one in 1.1 innings, and sophomore Mason Piper pitched a scoreless seventh to pick up the save with one hit and a strikeout, reaching second with a runner to finish the game.
A leadoff single by senior Tanner Vance, an RBI double by senior Clayton Smith and a sacrifice fly put the Lions up 2-0 in the bottom of the first. In the second inning, a two-out single by Vance, an error and two wild pitches scored both Vance and Smith. The Bulldogs pulled within 4-2 in the fifth inning, but a hit by Williams with a runner on third ended the threat. The Lions answered in the sixth with a leadoff hit by Smith and a single by Jolly, with Smith scoring on an error for a 5-2 lead.
Vance went 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs, and Smith went 1-for-2 with a double, two walks and three RBI.
The Lions (10-6) return to action Saturday at Pell City for a matchup beginning at 3 p.m.
FOOTBALL FOR BOYS
Trinity 3, Catholic 0
Jackson Champion scored three goals, including two on penalty kicks, and goaltender Carter Younger kept the shutout in check with five saves as the Wildcats won their 10th straight game with a 3-0 victory against Catholic on Thursday.
Trinity improved to 6-0 in 4A Area 2 play with the win.
Champion’s other goal came off an assist from Will Owen.
Trinity (10-4-1) will take two weeks off for spring break, returning to action with a pair of zone games at Ragsdale-Boykin Field against LAMP on March 28 and Catholic on March 30.
FOOTBALL FOR GIRLS
St. James 6, Central Phenix City 0
Katie Brightwell scored five goals and assisted on a sixth as the Trojans defeated the 7A Red Devils 6-0 on Thursday at Carlisle Field.
Mary Grace Hickson opened the scoring by finishing a center ball from Brightwell. Katie Irving recorded an assist on the second goal, starting the counter with a quick shot to send Brightwell into the goal. Riley Purcell, Hickson, Natalie Barton and Addison Barber contributed the remaining assists for the game.
The Trojan defense recorded its third shutout of the season, led by Hope and Hannah McCain.
St. James will take a week off for spring break, resuming play on March 30 at home against Opelika at 5:30 p.m.