The No. 16 Auburn Tigers play against the No. 8 Alabama Crimson Tide in an SEC baseball series this weekend. The three-game series can be viewed on SEC Network/SECN+.
Fans can watch each game for free online by using the free trials offered by DirecTV Stream and Fubo TV. Alternatively, Sling offers a first-month discount to new users. Fans can access SECN+ via the ESPN app by using their login credentials from these streaming services.
The first game will be played at 6 p.m. CT on SECN+ tonight. The second game will be played on Saturday at 7 p.m. CT on SEC Network. The final game of the series will be played on Sunday at 2 p.m. CT on SECN+.
The Tigers enter this series with an impressive 20-9 record, but they have lost four consecutive games.
In order to bounce back this weekend, the Auburn squad will need to rely on their star player Cooper McMurray. He currently leads the team with seven home runs and a .358 batting average.
The Crimson Tide enter this series with a 26-4 record, and they have won back-to-back games.
In order to win this series, the Crimson Tide will need a great performance from their star player Justin Lebron. He leads the team with 13 home runs and 53 RBI this season.
Fans can watch each game for free online by using the free trials offered by DirecTV Stream and Fubo TV. Alternatively, Sling offers a first-month discount to new users.
Strong didn’t sound affirmative that such a move would happen.
“I’m just telling you right now, that’s not a good move for us nor for the government,” Strong said.
“But you start looking at it, we do all the accounting for the FBI, you look at the training that’s done here, I think that we will continue to do this. I think our finest hours are still ahead. I think the time I’ve been with the president, vice president, cabinet members, I just keep stressing the ability of what we can do here.”
2. Strong says the Trump tariffs will improve the U.S. economy
Strong said adjusting the economy to President Trump’s latest slate of tariffs will be a “painful process,” but he expects good things in the end.
“What the president is trying to do is return those jobs that were previously in America back to America,” he said. “While this right here is painful, I do believe we’ve got to make this so it works for America. We shouldn’t be denied the ability to sell Harley-Davidson motorcycles in Germany, but yet we’re buying Mercedes from them. You see this all over the place.”
“You watch what happens to our economy,” Strong said. “We’re fixing to explode.”
3. Strong supports an investigation into the Signal group chat
The congressman said the American people “deserve answers” on how a journalist for The Atlantic was added to a group text on a social media app in which Trump Administration officials discussed air strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen.
In his reporting, Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg said he was invited onto the chat by National Security Adviser Mike Waltz. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, according to Goldberg, revealed specific plans in the Signal chat.
Strong said it doesn’t matter whether the chat contained specific war plans or outlines of the strikes.
“We can’t take the chance,” he said. “I want to find out who did it. Did Michael Waltz do it? Did a staff member do it? And the other question I’ve got is, I can’t believe the person that was added to that call was even in that call list. I don’t know of anybody working in the White House that would even want to be around him.”
4. In response to a question, Strong said he supports federal workers
One caller said federal employees have been “vilified in the media” during coverage of the DOGE cuts to segments of the bureaucracy, and wanted to know what Strong was doing to “stand up” for the large federal workforce in Huntsville.
He called the workforce at Marshall Space Flight Center is “exceptional.”
“I think we’re perfectly positioned, not only at Redstone, but also the research park,” he said. “And there are other countries looking all over North Alabama because of the workforce.
“I will be fighting for our federal workers. I’ll put our team up against anybody, because I know we can meet the mission.”
5. Space Command headquarters in Huntsville is still a priority
Strong said all of Alabama’s lawmakers are still advocating for Space Command headquarters to be located in Huntsville.
“I will continue to advocate that Space Command be built at Redstone Arsenal because it is best for national security, and I can tell you this right here, the entire Alabama delegation is working together,” he said.
The No. 2 UConn Huskies play against the No. 1 UCLA Bruins in a women’s NCAA Tournament Final Four game tonight. The matchup will begin at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN/ESPN 2. Fans can watch this game for free online by using the free trials offered by DirecTV Stream and Fubo TV. Alternatively, Sling offers a first-month discount to new users.
The Huskies enter this matchup with a 35-3 record, and they defeated No. 1 USC 78-64 in their Elite 8 game.
During the victory, Paige Bueckers led the UConn offense. She scored 31 points and shot 50% from the field, so she will look to perform similarly tonight.
Bueckers currently leads the team in scoring, as she averages more than 20 points per game.
The Bruins enter this matchup with a 34-2 record, and they defeated No. 3 LSU 72-65 in their Elite 8 game.
During the victory, Lauren Betts and Gabriela Jaquez led the UCLA offense. The two players combined to score 35 points, and they shot 12-21 from the field.
Betts currently leads the team in scoring, as she averages 20 points per game.
Fans can watch this Final Four game for free online by using the free trials offered by DirecTV Stream and Fubo TV. Alternatively, Sling offers a first-month discount to new users.
Donald Trump turned to his social media platform Friday to apply pressure on Jerome Powell, imploring the Federal Reserve chairman to cut interest rates in an all-caps tirade as the stock market slide since the president’s tariff announcement continued.
“This would be a PERFECT time for Fed Chairman Jerome Powell to cut Interest Rates. He is always ‘late,’ but he could now change his image, and quickly,” Trump posted to Truth Social.
“Energy prices are down, Interest Rates are down, Inflation is down, even Eggs are down 69%, and Jobs are UP, all within two months – A BIG WIN for America. CUT INTEREST RATES, JEROME, AND STOP PLAYING POLITICS!”
Trump’s post came as the S&P 500 was down 5% in morning trading, coming off its worst day since COVID wrecked the global economy in 2020.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1,656 points, or 4.2%, as of 10:50 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 5.5% lower, according to the Associated Press.
The president’s directive at Powell — the Federal Reserve operates independently — wasn’t the only all-caps tirade Trump had on Friday.
“CHINA PLAYED IT WRONG, THEY PANICKED – THE ONE THING THEY CANNOT AFFORD TO DO!” the president posted.
On Thursday, the president claimed the tariffs were going swimmingly despite Wall Street’s harsh reaction to the policy.
“I think it’s going very well. It was an operation, like when a patient gets operated on. It’s a big thing. I said this would be exactly the way it is,” Trump said.
Lisa McNair and Kim McNair Brock lost their 14-year-old sister Denise McNair in the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church that also killed 14-year-old Addie Mae Collins, 14-year-old Carole Robertson and 11-year-old Cynthia Morris . Over the years, the McNair sisters have continued to share the story of Denise’s death and the lessons their family learned in the aftermath of this great tragedy.
They recently teamed up with Hipped Interests, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Birmingham, to launch a quarterly event called McNair Sisters Lunch and Learn.
The McNair sisters believe intimate dialogue among activists is one way to spread the importance of fighting for civil rights. Lisa says the lunch idea came to her on a whim after a conversation she had with Hipped Interests’ founder, Kameryn Thigpen.
The first lunch was hosted in November. Political ideas such as the 2024 election and the defunding of DEI served as the main topics. The second lunch was held this past Saturday from 12:00-2:00 p.m. with a focus on how to organize and strategize for effective activism. The lunches are hosted in the McNair sisters’ family home in the Powderly neighborhood.
“I thought people would like coming here because of the historic nature of the home,” Lisa said.
How the lunch events got started
Thigpen founded Hipped Interests in 2021 as a social justice project on Instagram to raise awareness about how to get involved in civil rights work in Birmingham. Since starting the organization, she has hosted several workshops and collaborations including a Black women’s appreciation luncheon and a Juneteenth book drive in collaboration with the Alabama Books to Prisons Project.
“Kameryn came over one day to borrow books for prisoners and we ended up having a 30-minute conversation. We talked about opening our home up to small, intimate groups,” Lisa said.
“I’ve been passionate about social justice since around eight years old,” Thigpen said. “It’s such a freeing experience being able to openly advocate for issues I care about.”
Hipped Interests doesn’t have a target demographic. The organization believes in meeting people where they are and educating them from there.
“We’ve done workshops with both students and young adults. We just try to give people the tools and ethics to start their social justice journey,” Thigpen said.
Hipped Interests’ core values are education, equity, liberation, radical self-care and solidarity.
Stressing the importance of organizing
Lisa McNair speaks during a lunch and learn at her home in Birmingham, Ala.Kalyn Dunkins
Upon entering the McNair home, the aura of historical richness looms throughout. On the living room walls are family photos and other memorabilia. Glass bookcases are filled with encyclopedias and other historical texts. PBS’s “Eyes on the Prize,” a documentary about Civil Rights events in Birmingham, is paused on the television set at the front. A family friend, “Cherry,” sets up three tables: two with seating, glasses, plates and silverware and one with food prepared by Kim herself.
The doorbell rings intermittently as the McNair sisters and Cherry finish setting up, guests trickle in little by little. Chatter grows as everyone gets to know one another.
Lisa and Kameryn ask their guests to be seated and welcome them to the event before attendees dig into Kim’s homemade chicken and steak fajitas. Someone hits play on “Eyes on the Prize.” The success of the Birmingham bus boycott is the focus of the documentary for this lunch. Silence falls on the room as stomachs are filled with food and minds are filled with history. Images and dialogue of Birmingham icons such as Rosa Parks, Fred Shuttlesworth, Martin Luther King, Jr. and his wife Coretta Scott King grace the screen.
After about 45 minutes, Lisa pauses the documentary to begin an open dialogue based on questions that she, Kim and Thigpen collaborated on. Each of the three want to stress the importance of what they feel is missing in civil rights activism today: organization and strategy.
Lisa remembers how demonstrators were vetted back then: meetings were held to prepare people for what was and wasn’t allowed, what could and couldn’t be done and so on.
“Part of what we talk about each session, when we show documentaries, is real Civil Rights history and facts. Today, I think people of this generation just march because they were told that’s what happened,” she said. “This generation knows we marched for our freedom, but not the depth of it. Learning about the history and how things were coordinated is important to know.”
Thigpen also wants to offer clarity around the work of organizers versus the title of activist.
“I don’t believe organizing over social media is sustainable,” Thigpen said. “Activism is sexy and dressed up, cute for Instagram; organizing is behind the scenes and strategizing. Even the opposition is organizing—even Nazis organized. We need to get into that more. People are hungry to do this but don’t know how. They are angry but don’t know where to put it.”
Among the lunch attendees is Paulette Roby, Chairwoman of the Birmingham Civil Rights Activist Committee “Foot Soldiers Headquarters” downtown. She chimes in with a full-circle memory of her experience with the city buses.
“I think back to riding the bus, having to get on at the front to pay but then off again to go to the back for re-entry. Sometimes, the driver would pull off on you and just take your money,” Roby said. “Who were you going to tell on? Who would you tell?”
Roby challenged herself to become a bus operator and join a union later in life because she wanted to make more money and have job security. After becoming a driver, she went through her old neighborhood. She says some of the same people she and her mother stood with at the stop were happy to see her, a stark contrast to the many times they had taken the bus with a white man driving.
“I tell this story to show that God has a way of bringing you back around—from riding in the back of the bus to now driving it,” Roby said.
The role of spirituality, education and storytelling
The McNair sisters and Thigpen hope to bridge the gap between this new generation of activists and the old. Along with organizing and strategizing, they each believe the art of storytelling has been lost, as well as the spiritual essence of the Civil Rights movement and the way it should be translated from elders in the Black community to younger people.
Kim doesn’t think organized religion is necessary to have a connection to God, nor is it her preferred method.
“But we do need to be talking about God to these other generations,” she said. “Everyone needs to have their own relationship, even if it’s just having a family Bible study every week. It’s vitally important.”
Roby hopes stories keep being told instead of pushed under the rug, and that people continue to do what is right. It’s her faith that has carried her for so long.
“I’m 75 now and started around eight or nine years old. We have to continue to do what we have to do and not let anyone change our mind from that,” said Roby. “I tell myself not to be scared because I know God is on our side. I have enough faith that has driven me to tell young people to do the right thing. When you do right, right is going to follow you.”
Lisa says the Civil Rights movement was a spiritual movement, and getting in touch with God and spiritual importance is a missing key of strength and community for this generation.
“It takes a village,” she said.
Learning how to communicate and educate across generations is how they hope messages won’t get lost in translation. The McNair sisters and Thigpen know not everyone speaks the same lingo, and it’s important for activists to keep that in mind.
Thigpen says a lot of what activism work is “just spiritual,” and that people are pushed by God to “just do something.” She says when she talks about activism with her relatives, she understands terms used in academia don’t always land. She says people can always get to the bottom line if they keep in mind the demographics they’re trying to reach and how to address them.
“I think being educated helps, especially coming from a family that wasn’t very educated,” said long-time Hipped Interests participant, Odyssey Crowell. “But at the same time, information isn’t a relationship. If we spout random facts back and forth but don’t have a connection and a relationship, we can never get through to each other.”
Zamir McNeal, a local Birmingham photographer and Hipped Interests advocate, says sometimes you have to force these important conversations on younger generations, but that later on they will appreciate it. He mentioned working at Phillips Academy and being impressed with kids who were able to spout off names like Fannie Lou Hamer and Mary McLeod Bethune.
“Once a child is taught something, it’s kept,” he said. “There are adults who don’t even know what these seven, eight, nine-year-olds do. I turn 18 in July, but I’ve already talked to people who knew Fred Shuttlesworth and Rosa Parks. So, I just pass that knowledge down.”
Continuing the fight with purpose
Thigpen’s civil rights work was inspired by the death of Trayvon Martin and other deaths of Black people at the hands of police brutality. These events were her driving force of inspiration to do more.
“I encourage people to get involved in something they have an intentional and genuine connection with. Connect yourself with an issue that moves you,” she said. “Center yourself on well-ness and radical self-care—because you will burn yourself out if you don’t. Balance organizing and finding community with joy. One person can’t solve 100 issues, but 100 people can solve one.”
Lisa hopes having the McNair Sisters Lunch and Learn events will leave attendees inspired and encouraged. She believes now, more than ever, is the time for people to amp their activism up as the Trump administration takes aim at certain rights.
“People think, ‘Well, we have all these rights now’—which we do,” Lisa said, “but the birthright citizenship law being threatened also gave African Americans the right to be here. So, it’s not just for Hispanics. The vast majority of people don’t know that.”
“A lot of people are discouraged and depressed by the news, but we still have to be engaged and have self-care.”
The lunch concluded with the guests talking, laughing and embracing one another, packing up leftovers and feeling “full of hope” for what’s to come.
Roby encourages activists of all ages to never give up, and to continue to converse and strategize in comfortable settings like these.
“I just ain’t gone let nobody turn me around, especially now. I’m gonna keep moving,” she said. “Whatever I can do to help, I’m available. Any questions, just ask and I will answer or find the answer.”
To learn more about Hipped Interests and how to attend the McNair Sisters Lunch and Learn events, go to www.hippedinterests.com or send an email to [email protected]. To get in touch with Lisa McNair, send an email to [email protected] or visit www.speaklisa.com.For more information on how to get involved with Paulette Roby’s work at the Birmingham Civil Rights Activist Committee, visit this section of the Birmingham Civil Rights District’s official webpage.
During the 2024 NFL season, Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa completed 72.9 percent of his passes, the third-best single-season completion rate in NFL history. That performance came a year after the former Alabama All-American led the NFL with 4,624 passing yards.
What can Dolphins fans expect from Tagovailoa in 2025? An improved quarterback, according to Miami coach Mike McDaniel.
“He’s always getting better,” McDaniel said of Tagovailoa during an appearance on ESPN’s “This Is Football.” “He’s always improving on things in his game. That’s one thing that I think is supremely important, specifically at the quarterback position, but something that I think people don’t really recognize.
“All the best players in all of our sports that we all loved or grown up loving, the common denominator is there’s players with talent that continue to attack and master the position. It takes time. And I think his strength will be what he’ll lean on as his career continues, that he’s going to be a better version of what the world last saw.”
Tagovailoa sustained a concussion during the second game of the season and spent the next four games on injured reserve. Then he missed the final two games because of a hip injury.
In 2023, Miami finished second in points and first in yards among the NFL’s 32 teams. In 2024, the Dolphins ranked 22nd in points and 18th in yards.
“I think that 2025 Dolphins will flourish on the lessons learned in part of the 2024 Dolphins,” McDaniel said. “I think football is very analogous to life, and it’s always humbling — the National Football League, specifically. And it’s what you choose to do within that humility that really is your actual story. So I think our team has found over the course of the three years, each team is different. Each team has lessons that the next team can learn from.
“I think the core fabric of our football team is hungry in the right way, motivated for the right reasons, tooled with the right coaching. And I think we’re completing the offseason, from a player-acquisition standpoint, we’re positioning ourselves to do what needs to be done to be good. And I think everything beyond that is something that I think this team won’t focus on because we’ve been blessed with people having a lot of things in their minds that aren’t belief in the football team and that’s a present that we all can accept and choose to utilize if we want.”
Tagovailoa joined the Dolphins as the fifth pick in the 2020 NFL Draft after he won the Maxwell Award and the Walter Camp Award at Alabama as college football’s best player for the 2018 season.
After five seasons, Tagovailoa ranks second in completion percentage and ninth in passing-efficiency rating in NFL history.
In each of the past three seasons, Tagovailoa has had a passing-efficency rating of at least 101. In 2025, he could become the fifth quarterback to reach 101 for four consecutive seasons. Aaron Rodgers, from 2009 through 2014, and Drew Brees, from 2015 through 2020, topped 101 for six consecutive seasons, and Steve Young, from 1991 through 1994, and Russell Wilson, from 2018 through 2021, reached 101 for four consecutive seasons.
FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.
The National Weather Service continues to monitor the chances for severe weather in Alabama this weekend.
Isolated to scattered severe storms will be possible from late Saturday night into the day on Sunday.
The weather service said isolated tornadoes, damaging winds and hail will all be possible with any stronger storm that develops.
As of Friday there is a wide timing window for potential storms, according to the weather service. That could be narrowed down in the coming days.
NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center is forecasting a Level 2 out of 5 risk for severe storms for parts of Alabama both Saturday and Sunday.
A Level 2 risk means that scattered severe storms will be possible.
This weekend’s severe weather risk is not as intense as the one Alabama faced in mid-March or the storms that Tennessee and Arkansas experienced this week.
The severe weather risk is expected to continue into the day on Sunday for parts of the state.
Here is the outlook for Sunday:
Most of Alabama will be under either a Level 2 or Level 1 risk on Sunday.SPC
Here’s more from the weather service:
NORTH ALABAMA
CENTRAL ALABAMA
Here’s the timeline for possible storms in central Alabama.NWS
SOUTH ALABAMA
Here’s the outlook for southwest Alabama for Saturday.NWS
President Donald Trump’s announcement of sweeping new tariffs triggered the worst day for stock markets in five years on Thursday, sending shockwaves across the nation and in Alabama.
“When you dump over the apple cart, it’s totally expected to have major ramifications,” Retirement Systems of Alabama CEO David Bronner said Thursday in a statement.
Stable markets are important to the RSA, which relies on investments to support pension funds for more than 400,000 active and retired education and government employees.
The RSA said Thursday’s market downturn caused a 2.2% loss on its investments.
That amounted to a loss of $1.055 billion for the RSA’s three defined benefit plans – the Teachers’ Retirement System, the Employees’ Retirement System, and the Judicial Retirement System – the RSA said.
As of September 2024, the RSA was managing 24 funds with assets of $56 billion. The RSA paid $4 billion in benefits in 2024.
The Wall Street Journal reported that stock indexes declined by up to 6% on Thursday and experienced the single largest one-day loss of value since the COVID pandemic arrived in March 2020.
Trump says his tariffs are intended to bring factory jobs back to America and correct what he says are unfair trade policies that hurt the United States.
The tariffs are expected to raise prices in America and spark retaliatory moves by other nations that trade with the United States.
“Even though the concept of tariffs might work academically and can work for trading back and forth as a a negotiating tactic, you can’t use it to force companies to make long term commitments (takes 4-5 years to establish a manufacturing plant),” Bronner said.
“Companies can’t commit to that because you are dealing with a man who changes his mind on a regular basis.
“Even if companies were willing to commit, you are punishing the consumer for four to five years while they build the plant.”
Alabama House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville, said he believes the initial pain caused by the tariffs will lead to the long-term benefits the president has promised.
“I think that the tariffs at some point, we’re seeing it already, are going to bring jobs to the United States of America and back to Alabama,” Ledbetter said. “It may be a bumpy road to begin with.”
The company said it “plans to invest in improving its production facilities, including Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama (in Montgomery) and Kia Autoland Georgia, to further enhance its customer-centric approach in delivering high-quality automobiles.”
“The economy is always volatile,” Ledbetter said. “Especially the market. And I feel that pain. All of us do.
“But if we can grow jobs here, if bring them back to Alabama especially, grow them in this country, we’re all going to see that turn around.”
Tenth-ranked Class 7A Davidson knocked off No. 7 Baker 4-2 in an Area 1 boys soccer rivalry showdown on the road on Tuesday.
The Warriors, who just moved into the AHSAA soccer coaches Top 10 this week, improved to 10-3-3 on the season and wrapped up the area title with the win. The Hornets are 10-4-1 and broke into the Top 10 last week at No. 9 before moving up this week.
Mauricio Valdes scored a pair of goals for the Warriors against Baker with Pedro Chan Pec and Daniel Bueno also chipping in a goal apiece.
Grantham Morgan and Valentino Garcia scored for Baker.
The Warriors are scheduled to meet Collierville, Tenn., at 3 p.m. on Friday and North High of Edmond, Okla., on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. in the Southern Coast Cup at the Foley Sports Tourism Complex.
Baker will meet St. George’s Independent of Collierville, Tenn., on Friday to open play in the Southern Coast Cup in a 5 p.m. contest. The Hornets will play Rockvale, Tenn., at 10:30 a.m. Saturday and Westmoore of Oklahoma City at 5 p.m.
In other high school spring sports from around the state over the weekend:
BOYS
SOCCER
MOBILE/COASTAL ALABAMA
Citronelle 2, UMS-Wright 1 (OT)
The Wildcats clinched a playoff berth for the first time since 2018 when Hayden Davis converted a penalty kick with 14.7 seconds remaining in the first sudden death overtime on the road on Thursday.
Citronelle, with a roster loaded with middle schoolers and freshmen, improved to 7-4-1 overall and 4-2 in Class 5A, Area 2.
Charley Davis scored the winners’ other goal on a second-half corner kick.
1/31
Westminster at Oak Mountain Soccer
BIRMINGHAM
Oak Mountain 3, Westminster-Oak Mountain 0
The top-ranked Class 7A Eagles blanked Class 4A No. 1 Westminster-Oak Mountain at home on Tuesday, recording their 11th shutout in 19 games – all wins – this season. Oak Mountain ran its record to 20-0 with a 7-0 rout of Vestavia Hills on Thursday. The Eagles have registered four shutouts in five games.
Oak Mountain has won 39 consecutive matches and is riding an AHSAA record 50-game streak without a loss. The Eagles went 29-0-1 last season on the way to the state championship with only a 1-1 tie with Oconee County of Watkinsville, Ga., in the Jekyll Island Tournament of Champions on March 7, 2024, to mar their record. Oak Mountain’s last loss was 1-0 against Huntsville in the 7A state semifinals on May 11, 2023.
Gabe Capocci, Sam Collins and Michael Dennis scored in the win over Westminster. Capocci assisted on Dennis’ goal and Gerardo Rodriguez assisted on Collins’ goal. Capocci scored on a penalty kick for the Eagles.
Goalkeeper Owen Wells had a save in the shutout.
On Thursday, the Eagles pounded Vestavia Hills 7-0 on the road in an Area 6 contest to improve to 5-0 in the area.
Nate Taylor and Roy Soldevilla had 2 goals apiece for Oak Mountain. Capocci and Collins scored a goal and had an assist each. Luke Jovanovich and Sam Laney also had an assist each.
Alexander Chaidez had 3 saves on the way to the shutout.
Gardendale 5, Altamont 0
Gardendale junior Wyatt Chandler scored 3 goals to lead the Class 6A, No. 10 Rockets (13-2-1) to the win over Altamont at Driver Stadium on Thursday night.
Chris Bean scored the Rockets’ first goal and Chandler scored his first goal on an assist from Bean with 21:54 to go in the first half. Chandler added a goal just a minute and a half into the second half on a perfect pass from James Swift. Ryan McPherson scored with 34:42 to play and Chandler capped the scoring with a goal off and assist from Layten Dial with 4:22 go to.
Goalkeeper Connor Thomas earned the clean sheet.
On Tuesday, Gardendale and No. 8 Pelham battled to a 1-1 stalemate at Pelham.
Gardendale junior Kenny Kamau scored on a header on a corner kick from senior captain Mario Castro early in the second half to give the visitors the lead. With less than 5 minutes remaining, Pelham scored the equalizer.
The Rockets return to action Tuesday at Pinson Valley in an area game.
HUNTSVILLE/TENNESSEE VALLEY
Westminster Christian 5, Ardmore 1
The Wildcats stayed on top of Class 5A, Area 16 beating Ardmore on the road on Thursday. Westminster Christian improved to 2-0 in area play and 5-7 overall.
The Wildcats led 2-1 at the half with a goal in the sixth minute when Nathan Steele’s shot bounced off the Ardmore goalkeeper and John Mark Steele was there to drive the ball into the net. Steele scored again in the 15th minute with an assist from Adrian Weekley to give the Wildcats a 2-0 edge. Ardmore halved the advantage before halftime.
In the second half, Westminster increased its lead to 3-1 when Chase Donaldson scored off a corner kick in the 43rd minute. Donaldson scored again in the 49th minute with an assist from Raymond Norris to push the lead to 4-1. Steele finished with a hat trick off an assist from Micah Lyman in the 54th minute.
Westminster will try to stay unbeaten in area play hosting East Limestone on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
1/20
St. Paul’s at Faith baseball
BASEBALL
MOBILE/COASTAL ALABAMA
Faith Academy 9, St. Paul’s 6
A 4-run sixth inning boosted Faith Academy to a come-from-behind victory over St. Paul’s in Class 5A Area 2 action at Ram Field on Thursday night.
In the decisive inning, Bryce Turner delivered an RBI single driving in Grayson Finch to tie the game at 6 and Cooper Smith brought him home with another single. Riley Wilemon singled to drive in Carlos Ortiz, who had reached on a hit-by-pitch, for an 8-6 lead. Smith scored on an Eli Quinley single for what proved to be the final run.
Brody Lambert was 2-for-2 and scored a run for Faith Academy, Wilemon was 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs — one coming on a sacrifice fly — while Smith was 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, Ortiz had an RBI single and scored a run, and Quinley had an RBI single to lead the Rams, who collected 11 hits.
Riley Hall was the winning pitcher, improving to 6-1 on the year. Hall allowed 6 runs on 6 hits while striking out 4 and walking 2 and Christian Freeman got the save as Faith improved to 18-3 overall and 6-0 in area play.
“Riley was big for us,” said Rams head coach Matt Seymour. “He kept the game close and when you get into a three-game series like that, you can’t start going to your bullpen early because it’ll mess you up. We’ve got two big games tomorrow, so it was big for Riley to throw six for us.”
Tate Farrell took the loss for St. Paul’s (11-8, 3-1), going 5.2 innings while giving up 8 runs on 9 hits while striking out 3 and walking 3. Edward McLeod was 2-for 3 with a grand slam home run and a single. Ross Delaney had an RBI single and John Stowers scored on an error.
Faith overcame a 6-run Saints barrage in the top of the second. In that inning, Delaney hit a bases-loaded RBI single and Stovers scored from third on an error. With the bases still loaded, McLeod launched a grand slam to left field to make it 6-0.
The Rams fought back in their half of the inning when Collin Hall hit an RBI double, Brodie Wilson scored on a grounder and Ortiz hit an RBI single. With the bases loaded, Ortiz scored on a balk and Wilemon’s sacrifice RBI made it 6-5.
The two teams play a doubleheader in the best-of-three series on Friday at 4 p.m. at Bussie Greer Stadium.
– Arthur L. Mack
Satsuma 4, St. Michael 0
Tucker Hicks pitched 7 innings of shutout ball to lead Satsuma to the road win at St. Michael in a Class 4A, Area 1 contest on Thursday. Hicks allowed 3 singles and struck out 4 and retired the final 6 batters in order. The senior did not allow a runner past second base and did not issue a walk.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it in 23 years of coaching,” Satsuma coach Rodney Hicks said of Hicks’ 48 strikes in 58 pitches with no walks and no runs. He averaged 8 pitches per inning in the win.
Satsuma put up a run in the first inning on a Brady Coleman single, scoring Darius Kupua, and a pair of runs in the fourth. Jake May drove in Coleman, May came around and scored on an error.
Hicks capped off the scoring for the Gators, with a 2-out, 2-strike single that brought in Brenden Jones.
Kupua, Hicks and Coleman had 2 hits apiece.
Satsuma (14-8) picked up its second – and second consecutive – shutout of the season.
On Tuesday, Satsuma blanked Millry 2-0 on the road behind the strong pitching performance from the duo of Charlie Brinkman and Parker Sells. Brinkman worked 3 hitless innings and Sells threw 4 innings, allowing 2 hits. Satsuma recorded 5 strikeouts and did not allow a runner past second base.
Gators cleanup hitter Cooper Crenshaw provided the only run needed for the Satsuma offense with a 2-out home run off Hisun Marlowe in the sixth inning. It was Crenshaw’s third homer of the season.
The second run came after Coleman walked, advanced on a May single and scored on a Hicks single.
Sells sat the final six Wildcats batters down in order.
Jackson Waite and Landon Doggette were the only two Millry batters to get hits on the day.
Marlowe took the loss, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits with 6 strikeouts over 7 innings.
– John Vella
HUNTSVILLE/TENNESSEE VALLEY
East Limestone 4, Ardmore 3
The Indians scored rallied from a 3-0 deficit in the bottom of the sixth inning to pick up a win over Ardmore in the first of a three-game Class 5A, Area 16 series at home on Tuesday.
No. 9 hitter Garrett Ritter’s no-out single to right field drove in Matthew Drake with the winning run for East Limestone. Cade Parham started the inning, reaching on a dropped third strike. He went to third on a single to right by Cole Vining, who took second on the throw. Leyton Coffman drove in Parham with a single and Drake loaded the bases with a hit-by-pitch.
Brodie Coker drove in Vining and Coker with a line drive to center to tie the game before Ritter’s hit that proved to be the game-winner.
Coker had 2 RBIs and Chris Fitts was 1-for-2 with 3 stolen bases.
Starter Charlie Eslick gave up 3 earned runs on 4 hits with 2 strikeouts and 4 walks. Drake earned the win in relief, striking out 2 and walking 1 in 2 hitless, scoreless innings. Jacob Brooks gave up 2 hits in an inning of relief.
Admore scored all of its runs in the top of the third inning. Leadoff batter Noah Stafford was 2-for-4 with a run scored, Luke Ezell was 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run, Keaton Johns was 1-for-3 with a run and Cole Clinard was 1-for-3 with 2 RBIs.
Johns took the loss, allowing 4 earned runs on 5 hits with 4 strikeouts and 2 walks over 5 innings.
Hartselle 14-20, Decatur 2-5
Top-ranked Hartselle blasted the Red Raiders in a Class 6A, Area 15 doubleheader on Thursday at Decatur to complete a 3-game series sweep.
In Thursday’s opener, the Tigers jumped to a 9-0 lead after two innings and closed out the 5-inning run-rule win with 2 runs in the fourth and 3 in the fifth. Decatur scored a pair of runs in the third inning.
Seven of Hartselle’s 13 hits were for extra bases, with Cruise Baker smacking a home run, Christopher Miles adding a triple and a double and Asher Doepel, Easton Nelms, Keaton Lance and Ty Marsh all having doubles.
Baker was 1-for-2 with 2 RBIs and 3 runs scored, while Lance was 3-for-3 with 2 RBIs, Nelms was 2-for-2 with an RBI, Miles was 2-for-3 with an RBI, Marsh had a hit in 2 at-bats with 2 RBIs, Doepel drove on 3 runs with a 2-for-3 performance and Cain Falciani went 1-for-3 with an RBI.
Carter Lee earned the win, allowing 2 runs – 1 earned – on 3 hits with 6 strikeouts and 2 walks over 4 innings.
The top of the Decatur order – Trey Greenwell, Reeves Waller and Grayson Marion – managed a single apiece in the loss. Waller had an RBI.
Marion took the loss, allowing 7 earned runs on 6 hits with a strikeout and a walk.
In Game 2, Hartselle pounded out 19 hits with another display of power hitting. Miles ripped a grand slam home run in the top of the seventh inning to put the visitors up 19-3 and had a double on the night. Nelms was 4-for-6 with a 3-run triple and 4 RBIs. Marsh had 2 doubles in 6 at-bats with 2 RBIs. Elijah King was 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs and Cole Griffith was 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs.
Baker and Samuel Gillette also had doubles for the Tigers.
Doepel earned the win as the second of six Hartselle pitchers. He gave up a hit in 2 scoreless innings in relief of William Sharp.
Marion had a 2-run homer for the Red Raiders. Reeves Waller went 3-for-4 and Harris Penley was 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Starter Charles Thomas took the loss, giving up 7 runs – 6 earned – on 9 hits with 2 strikeouts and a walk.
On Tuesday, in Hartselle’s series-opening win, the Tigers scored a run in the first, 3 in the second and 3 in both the fifth and sixth. The Red Raiders scored a run in the top of the sixth and 3 in the seventh.
Baker was 2-for-4 with a 2-run homer for Hartselle, which got doubles from Cole Griffin, Lee and Nelms. Marsh, Doepel, Braden Weathers, Lee, Griffin and Falciani all had single RBIs.
Jace Meadows got the win, allowing an earned run on 2 hits with 7 strikeouts over 6 innings. Carson Wilson gave up 3 earned runs on 3 hits in the final inning.
Greenwell had a home run and a double for Decatur. Benjamin Strickland was 2-for-3 in the loss and Reid Roberson had an RBI.
Evan Forsyth took the loss, allowing 7 runs – 4 earned – on 6 hits with 3 strikeouts and 3 walks in 5 innings.
1/27
Hewitt-Trussville at Vestavia Hills Baseball
BIRMINGHAM
Vestavia Hills 7-5, Hewitt-Trussville 2-7
The fifth-ranked Class 7A Rebels knocked off No. 1 Hewitt-Trussville on the road on Tuesday in the first game of a three-game Area 6 series while the Huskies won Game 2 at Vestavia Hills on Wednesday.
In Game 1, Vestavia scored a run in the top of the first, 2 in the third, 3 in the fifth and another in the seventh. Hewitt-Trussville scored single runs in the sixth and seventh.
No. 9 hitter Carson Mann slapped a solo home run for Vestavia Hills and Will Langston went 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs. Cross Tonsmeire was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI and Gavin Smith had a double and an RBI.
Chase Rafferty earned the win for the Rebels, giving up an earned run on 5 hits with 4 strikeouts and 3 walks over 5 innings. Reliever William Daniel gave up an earned run on a hit with 2 strikeouts and 2 walks in 2 innings.
Christian Helmers took the loss for Hewitt, allowing 6 earned runs on 7 hits with 7 strikeouts and 4 walks in 5 innings. Rylan Clark allowed an earned run on a hit with 3 strikeouts in 2 innings.
Drew Ollis went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI in the loss. Steele Hall was 1-for-3 with an RBI for Hewitt.
In Game 2, Hewitt-Trussville pounded out 11 hits and took advantage of 4 Vestavia errors to get the win. Two Huskies pitchers combined to strike out 9 Rebels, with reliever Hudson Mitchell getting the win. He allowed an earned run on 2 hits with 4 strikeouts and a walk over the final 4.1 innings. Starter Jacob Francis gave up 4 runs – 3 earned – on 5 hits with 5 strikeouts and 2 walks over 2.2 innings.
The Huskies scored a run in the second inning with Vestavia answering with 3 in the bottom of the inning. Hewitt then scored a pair in the third to knot the score, but the Rebels scored another run in the bottom of the third to lead 4-3. Hewitt took control with 2 runs in the fourth, another in the fifth and 1 in the seventh. Vestavia Hills scored its final run in the fifth.
No. 8 hitter Blake Bales went 3-for-4 with 3 RBIs and 2 runs scored for Hewitt-Trussville. Leadoff hitter Hall was 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run, No. 2 hitter Koal Duckett was 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run and Cale McIntosh was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.
Jacob Harris had a 3-run home run in the second inning for Vestavia Hills. He was 2-for-4 on the day. Langston was also 2-for-4.
Colin Jones took the loss, allowing 5 runs – 2 earned – on 7 hits with 2 strikeouts and a walk over 3 innings. Wilson Szymela gave up 2 runs – 1 earned – on 4 hits with 3 strikeouts and 3 walks in 4 innings.
The teams are scheduled to play the third game of the Area 6 series on Friday at 6 p.m.
Homewood 15, Jackson-Olin 0
The Patriots opened their 3-game Class 6A, Area 9 series with a 3-inning rout on Tuesday at home as three pitchers combined to no-hit Jackson-Olin.
Southern Union Community College signee Jack Ross got the win for Homewood, striking out 3 with no walks, to improve to 7-0. Winston Martin struck out 2 and walked 2 and Justin Gamble struck out 3 and walked 1 in the win.
Junior Auburn University commitment Levi Nickoli went 2-for-2 with 2 RBIs, Ross was 1-for-2 with a double and 2 RBIs and Will Dobbins was 2-for-3 with 2 RBIs. Randall Gartman had a triple and drove in 2 runs. Connor Brunner was 2-for-2 with 2 runs scored, Justin Gamble had a double, Martin doubled and had an RBI and Jack Bland doubled and scored twice.
Ricky Bell took the loss for the Mustangs, allowing 12 earned runs on 12 hits with a strikeout and 4 walks.
Hueytown 11, McAdory 1
The Golden Gophers rolled to the 5-inning run-rule win over McAdory in the first of a 3-game Class 6A, Area 8 series on Thursday, scoring 3 runs in the first, 2 in the second, 1 in the third and 5 in the bottom of the fifth.
Hueytown had 5 singles, scored 5 unearned runs and capitalized on 3 Yellow Jackets errors.
Bronson Moore was 2-for-4 with an RBI, Baker Davis had a hit and 2 RBIs and Jarret Kauhn went 1-for-3 with an RBI and Samuel Vaughan was 1-for-2. Caleb Chapman and Rodrequis Houston also drove in a run apiece.
Vaughan earned the win, giving up a run on 2 hits with 4 strikeouts and a walk.
Aaron Bailey took the loss for McAdory, allowing 10 runs – 5 earned – on 3 hits with 7 strikeouts and 6 walks in 4 innings.
Brandon Heard got both of the Yellow Jackets’ hits in 2 at-bats and scored a run. Genesis Ware picked up an RBI.
Chelsea 4, Helena 2
Aiden Hughes struck out 10 on the way to the Class 7A, Area 7 win at Helena on Wednesday. Hughes allowed 2 unearned runs on 2 hits over 5.1 innings. He helped himself at the plate by going 3-for-4 with an RBI triple.
Luke Neill had an RBI single for Chelsea. Paxton Stallings got the final 5 outs to pick up a save.
The Hornets scored a pair of runs in the top of the fourth inning before the home team answered with 2 in the bottom to knot the score. Chelsea got 2 more in the fifth to close out the scoring.
Jaxson Dohrman singled to open the Chelsea half of the fifth and scored on Hughes’ triple to right field. An out later, Hughes scored on a bunt by Caden Mims.
No. 3 batter Nicholas Peters and cleanup hitter Braydon Kendrick both Helena’s hits and both drove in a run.
Brayden Dockery took the loss, allowing 4 earned runs on 6 hits with 5 strikeouts and 2 walks in 6 innings.
STATEWIDE
Brantley 18, Geneva County 8
The Bulldogs rolled over Geneva County on Tuesday, its second home win of the day after a 9-6 win over J.U. Blacksher.
Jayden Parks earned the win, striking out 3 in 3 innings and helped himself with a pair of hits. Jon Harper Kilcrease and Cooper Layton also had 2 hits apiece in the win.
In the win over Blacksher, Chaz Braum had 3 hits, including a double. Parks and Kilcrease had 2 hits each for Brantley.
TENNIS
STATEWIDE
Montgomery Academy 9, LAMP 0
The Eagles improved to 15-1 on the season with the win at home on Wednesday. Montgomery Academy’s Jackson Brown recorded his 100th career doubles win when he teamed with John Alford to win at the No. 1 spot over Eric Li and Matthew Jang. Brown joins Alford as the only players in MA tennis history to hit 100 doubles wins.
Ford Morano and Edwin Wu won the No. 2 doubles match and Anton Yang and Bo Johnston won the No. 3 match.
Alford, Brown, Morano, Wu, Duncan McInnes and Anton Yang swept the singles competition.
On Tuesday, the Eagles picked up a 7-2 road win at Enterprise to improve to 5-0 in sectional matches this season.
Alford and Brown won at No. 1 in Montgomery Academy’s doubles sweep. Morano/ Wu won at No. 2 and Yang/Johnston won at No. 3.
Alford, Brown, Wu and McInnes won their singles matches for the Eagles.
GIRLS
SOFTBALL
MOBILE/COASTAL ALABAMA
Mary G. Montgomery 4, Baker 1
Malena Simonson reached base three times and scored a pair of runs as Mary G. Montgomery topped rival Baker at home on Thursday.
The Vikings (12-12-1) took advantage of 5 Honeybees errors and 5 walks. Simonson scored on an Alexis Pierce single in the first inning to open the scoring. Hannah Fenner and Simonson would put the Vikes up 3-0 after a Kaylee White single that allowed Simonson to score on an error.
White would reach on an error in the sixth inning, allowing Emilee Perry to score to put MGM up 4-0.
Simonson picked up the victory in the circle, scattering 3 hits through 5 innings not allowing any runs or walks. Anna Wolfe recorded the final six outs.
The Honeybees avoided the shutout with a two-out single by Madison Smith scoring Kaylee Boddie.
Madison Smith, who took the loss for Baker, had 2 hits with an RBI. Smith gave up 4 runs on 7 hits with 4 strikeouts and 5 walks over 6 innings.
On Wednesday, Mary G. Montgomery swept a Class 7A, Area 1 doubleheader over Davidson, winning the opener 16-0 and the nightcap 15-0. Both wins came on no-hitters in run-rule shortened 4-inning games.
Emma Hawsey earned the win in Game 1 for Mary G. Montgomery, striking out 9 of the 13 batters she faced.
The Vikings scored in every inning, including an 8-run first inning, and Davidson committed 10 errors.
Bailey Campbell had 3 hits with a pair of RBIs in the win. Ava Graddick, Fenner and Gracie Coleman had 2 hits each, with Coleman smacking 2 doubles with 2 RBIs in the first inning when Mary G. Montgomery sent 13 batters to the plate.
Simonson drove in 2 runs and scored 3, adding 2 stolen bases as MGM had a season high in runs scored in the win.
Taylor Mack was the only Warrior to reach base with a leadoff walk in the second inning.
In Game 2, Perry struck out 8 in a second no-hitter. She struck out the side in the second inning. At the plate, she had 2 hits with 2 RBIs.
Kaylee White drove in 5 runs, with a 2-run double in the first inning and a 3-run home run in the third.
Graddick and Fenner had 3 stolen bases each for MGM. Erica Barker and Emily Coates also had 2 hits each in the win.
– John Vella
Orange Beach 10, Satsuma 0
KG Favors and MK McMullen combined on a 1-hitter as top-ranked Class 4A Orange Beach notched its 13th shutout in 19 games on Tuesday with the home win over Satsuma.
Favors struck out 6 over 4 innings for Orange Beach while McMullen struck out 3 and allowed a sixth-inning single to Belle Sheffield in 3 innings.
Every starter reached base in the win with Jayde Palmer going 2-for-4 with a double and 2 RBIs, Laura Robbins going 2-for-3 with an RBI and Teagan Revette going 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI. Ava Hodo was 2-for-3 at the plate. Taylor Poland was 1-for-2 with an RBI.
The Makos scored a run in the bottom of the first, 5 in the third, 3 in the fourth and closed it out with a run in the sixth.
Bralee Byrd took the loss for the Gators, allowing 10 runs – 3 earned – on 11 hits with 6 walks.
Alma Bryant 8, St. Paul’s 6
Seventh grader Baylee Rome led the Hurricanes at the plate in a road win at St. Paul’s on Wednesday. Rome was 3-for-4 for Alma Bryant while Ida Wright and Madyson Seaman, who doubled, had a pair of RBIs each.
The Hurricanes scored 3 runs in the second inning to lead 3-2 and pushed across 5 in the third. St. Paul’s scored a pair of runs in the fourth and single runs in the fifth and sixth. Both teams had 10 hits with Alma Bryant committing 2 errors and taking advantage of 5 miscues by the Saints.
Juliana Walker was 2-for 4 with a triple and an RBI and Madelyn Ladnier was 2-for-4 in the win.
Aubrey Herrera got the win in the circle, allowing 4 runs – 2 earned – on 5 hits with 2 strikeouts. Ladnier earned a save, allowing 2 runs on 3 hits with 4 strikeouts in the final 3 innings.
Losing pitcher Ava Voris went 3-for-3 at the plate with 2 RBIs for St. Paul’s. Kendall Dougherty was 2-for-3 and Julia Dugan had a double. Voris gave up 8 runs – 5 earned – on 10 hits with 7 strikeouts and 2 walks in 7 innings.
HUNTSVILLE/TENNESSEE VALLEY
Westminster Christian 15, Randolph 5
The Wildcats rolled to a Class 4A, Area 15 win at Randolph on Thursday in a 6-inning run-rule game.
Kaylin McRee went 4-for-4 with 3 RBIs and 3 runs scored for Westminster Christian. Kensie Lindberg was 2-for-4, with 2 RBIs and A.P. Slaten was 1-for-3 with a pair of RBIs.
Starting pitcher Carleigh Gothart gave up a hit in 3 innings to pick up the win.
Julianne Jones went 4-for-4 with 3 RBIs for Randolph.
Westminster built an early 12-0 lead getting 5 runs in the first and 7 in the second. Randolph battled back with 2 runs in the third inning and 3 in the fourth before the Wildcats put it away with a pair of runs in the fifth and another in the sixth.
Westminster (9-8, 3-1) plays at West Limestone on Monday.
– Jimmy Lay
STATEWIDE
Prattville Christian 9, Tallassee 0
The Class 4A No. 9 Panthers picked up an Area 5 win at Tallassee on Thursday as starting pitcher Laura Nesmith struck out 12 in the 2-hit shutout. The senior walked a batter in the 7-inning win.
Prattville Christian collected 11 hits with Peyton Thrash leading the way at the plate, going 4-for-4 with a double. Chasiti Lindsey went 2-for-4 in the win.
PCA improved to 23-5 on the season and will host American Christian on Friday at 4 p.m.
On Tuesday, Prattville Christian whipped Montgomery Catholic 12-3 in another Area 5 contest at home. The Panthers rallied from a 2-1 deficit after an inning when Thrash tripled in 2 runs and Chloe Hollon singled in another in the bottom of the second on the way to the big win.
Hollon was 3-for-3 – with a 2-run home run to go with her RBI single and an RBI double.
PCA had 8 hits in the third inning to push across 6 runs, with Addison Byrd driving in a run on a ground out, Lindsey singling in a run and Thrash doubling home a run to go with Hollon’s homer. Thrash was 4-for-4 with 5 RBIs.
Starter Alivia Messick got the win, giving up 3 runs – 1 earned – on 4 hits with 4 strikeouts over 6 innings.
Jennifer Looney took the loss for Montgomery Catholic, giving up 19 hits and 12 runs – 11 earned – over 6 innings with a strikeout and a walk.
Peyton Dees doubled and had 2 RBIs for the Knights. Gabby Eady also had an RBI in the loss. Riley Hudson, Jaidyn Simmons and Looney all singled for Catholic.
Trinity 18, Montgomery Academy 2
The Wildcats picked up the 3-inning Class 3A, Area 5 win at home over Montgomery Academy on Tuesday, exploding for 10 runs in the bottom of the first inning. Trinity pounded out 14 hits while holding the Eagles to 3.
Harper Johnson smacked a pair of home runs and a double in 4 at-bats and drove in 8 runs for Trinity. Leadoff hitter Marley Sharpless was 3-for-3 with 3 doubles with Evan Knight and Madison Milton going 2-for-3. Milton had 3 RBIs and Knight had a double.
Milton also picked up the win in the circle, allowing 2 earned runs on 3 hits with 3 strikeouts and a walk.
Lucy Nelson went 2-for-2 for Montgomery Academy. Davis Anne Fitzpatrick and Ella Claire Corsino were both 1-for-2.
Elinor Grace Hines took the loss, giving up 18 runs – 8 earned – on 14 hits with 3 strikeouts and 6 walks in 2.2 innings.
1/36
Spain Park at Oak Mountain Soccer
SOCCER
BIRMINGHAM
Spain Park 3, Oak Mountain 2
Senior keeper Morgan Pritchett had 4 saves as Spain Park beat Class 7A No. 3 Oak Mountain on the road on Tuesday. The Jaguars got a pair of Reese Oldfield goals in the second half to snap a 1-all tie at the intermission.
Josie Gray scored for Spain Park in the 23rd minute before Oak Mountain answered 4 minutes later with a goal from Isabelle Cherry.
Oldfield’s first goal of the night came in the second half in the 42nd minute to break the tie and she added what proved to be the game-winner in the 53rd minute. Priscilla Thornton assisted on the first goal and Alex Langan got an assist on the second.
Oak Mountain’s Cherry scored again – in the 63rd minute – but the Eagles couldn’t manage to tie.
Spain Park had 15 shots on the night to 7 for Oak Mountain.
Saint James 8, LAMP 0
Eighth-ranked Class 4A Saint James improved to7-2 on the season with the shutout over LAMP on Thursday at the YMCA Complex in Montgomery. KK Corley led the way with 4 goals.
Molly Phillips scored 2 goals and had an assist, Natalie Barton had a goal and 4 assists and Hedda Stoerdal recorded her first varsity goal. Ragan King also had an assist in the win.
Stella Williams notched her fifth shutout of the season in nine games.
Saint James will host Booker T. Washington-Tuskegee on Friday at 5:30 p.m. at Carlisle Field.
HUNTSVILLE/TENNESSEE VALLEY
Westminster Christian 4, Madison Academy 0
Second-ranked Class 5A Westminster Christian completed its season sweep of Madison Academy on Thursday, shutting out the Mustangs for a second time. The Wildcats won 10-0 in an earlier meeting this year.
Westminster outshot Madison Academy 30-5 with a strong defensive effort. Sophomore goalkeeper Piper Blazier had 3 saves on the night.
Eighth grader Alex Menin and freshman Alondra Piers scored 2 goals apiece in the win. Freshman Annie Collier had 2 assists and Alex Menin and Ava Martinez had 1 each.
On Tuesday, the Wildcats bounced back with a 5-1 win over Priceville after back-to-back losses to Class 7A Huntsville and Sparkman.
Westminster Christian out-shot the Bulldogs 32-5 and Blazier had 2 saves in the road match.
Freshmen Annie Collier and Martinez scored 2 goals each in the win. Eighth grader Carson Heater also scored for the Wildcats. Gabby Dean had 2 assists with Collier, Martinez and Menin adding an assist each.
Westminster (8-3-1) will return to Area 15 play Friday at home against East Limestone at 5 p.m.
– Jimmy Lay
Some information in this report is from GameChanger Media.
Editor’s Note: To report highlights to AL.com, please email [email protected] following your games. Reports must come from coaches or team statisticians and no later than 10:30 a.m. on Monday and Friday.
Walmart is offering a plethora of deals and discounts on select patio furniture sets this week just in time for spring and summer.
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Lofka 3-Piece Outdoor Rocking Chair Set
The Lofka 3-Piece Outdoor Rocking Chair Set is on sale for a limited time at Walmart.
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