OXFORD – Hartselle High School fought through the elimination bracket and beat Athens to force a winner-take-all finale in the AHSAA Class 6A State Softball Tournament that concluded Wednesday at Choccolocco Park.
    The Golden Eagles (29-14) survived, however, scoring eight runs in the fifth inning of the if-necessary game in the double-elimination tournament, and Lily Lowery pitched a complete game in a 12-9 victory over Hartselle in the championship game.
    The victory gives Athens its second title in the last three seasons and sixth in school history, as the Golden Tigers also won fast-pitch titles in 2010 and 2022 and won slow-pitch championships in 1989, 1990 and 1999.

    Athens and Hartselle played three times in the last two days. Athens won 11-1 in Tuesday’s winners bracket championship game, and the Tigers (38-15-1) replied with an 18-8 win that sent the championship round to a second game.
    In the 18-8 win, Hartselle’s Brit Godfrey had four hits and drove in six runs, and K.J. Prather went 5-for-5.  The Tigers had 20 hits against Athens pitcher Lexie Thornton, who pitched the complete game.
    In Athens’ 12-9 championship win, Caitlyn Tedford went 2-for-4 and drove in three runs, while Kara Crews and Morgan Stiles drove in two runs apiece. Athens’ Carly Ennis, the tournament MVP, finished 2-for-3 with one RBI and three runs scored.
    Lowery allowed 13 hits and five walks, but earned the pitching win for Athens.
    Hartselle also defeated Gardendale 5-3 in an elimination to start 6A action Wednesday.

  JACKSONVILLE – Bob Jones High School senior shortstop Braden Booth slugged his third home run of the AHSAA Class 7A State Baseball Championship Series in the first inning of the third and final game Wednesday night to snuff out some brief momentum, by Central-Phenix City, and the Red Devils never recovered.
   Booth finished the night with two hits in two official at bats, had two RBIs, walked twice and scored three runs and the Patriots to a 12-5 victory to claim the school’s first-ever state baseball crown.
    Bob Jones won Game 1 at Choccolocco Park in Oxford on Tuesday. With the games moving Jacksonville State University’s Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium The first inning of the deciding Game 3 provided plenty of fireworks as Central scored two runs in the top of the first to take a 2-0 lead when lead-off batter Emory Yohn opened the game with a single, Landon Beaver reached on an error, and Hunter Wippert singled to plate Yohn. Beaver scored on a sacrifice fly by Sam Brown. The rally was snuffed out when Wippert was tagged out while trying to take third.
    In the bottom of the inning, Booth, who was named the Class 7A State Baseball Championship Series MVP, tied the game with his third homer of the championship series – a towering blow to left that scored that scored Jacob Pearl, who drew a lead-off walk. With two runners on and just one out, CentralCoach A.J. Kehoe switched pitchers bringing in Jordan Balcum. Central got out the inning with an out at third for the inning’s first out, and a double-play to end the inning.
    Bob Jones added a third run in the bottom of the second to take a 3-2 lead when Tanner Hermesch walked and scored on a two-out single by  Pearl. The Patriots added four runs in the fourth inning and five in the fifth to build a 12-3 lead.
   Central got two runs back in the top of the seventh but could get no closer.
    Bob Jones (44-9), coached by Jared Smith, had 12 hits in the final game/ Catcher Zack Johnson   had two hits and three RBIs, right fielder Dillon Adkinswas 3-for-3 with one RBI.
    Yohn ad Wippert had two hits each for Central (40-5), coached by AJ Kehoe.  
    Patriots pitcher Jack Shaw pitched six innings, allowed seven hits, four runs but only one earned, and struck out five to get the final win. Adkins came in to close out the game in the seventh.
    Balcum, one of five Central pitchers in the third game, got the loss.
    Central was playing in its third straight 7A state finals. The Red Devils won the title in 2022.
    Classes 2A and 4A opened play Wednesday at Choccolocco Park and will conclude those series at JSU Thursday. Ariton and Mars Hill Bible will begin Game  2 at 10 a.m., and the 4A finals featuring Corner and American Christian will play Game 2 at 4 p.m. Game 3 in each series will follow game two if needed.
   Hartselle and Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa open play at Choccolocco Park with Game 1 at 10 a.m. That series will conclude Friday at JSU with the Game set for 10 a.m., and Game 3, if needed to follow.
    All games are being live streamed over the NFHS Network’s subscriber-based platform. Go to  www.nfhsnetwork.com for more information. 
     All AHSAA State Softball Tournament games are also being live streamed over the NFHS Network this week. Championship games are being produced by WOTM TV with Vince Early the executive producer.

 OXFORD – Skyline High School has never won an AHSAA softball state championship, but the Vikings are only one victory away after Tuesday’s action at the 2024 Class 1A state tournament at Choccolocco Park.
    The top-ranked Vikings (32-12) held on for a 4-2 victory over Leroy in the winners bracket final, recording the final out with the tying run at the plate. Skyline led 4-0 after six and half innings before the Bears rallied.

    Skyline’s Brook Cloud drove in two runs and finished 2-for-3 at the plate. The junior singled in the third inning and added a two-run double in the seventh to give Skyline two runs that ultimately proved to be the difference in the game.
    Skyline pitchers Brinna Wilson and Olivia Treece split time in the circle to limit Leroy to two runs off two hits.
    Skyline opened the two-day, double-elimination tournament with a 9-1 victory over Verbena and then earned a 10-0 victory over defending champion Brantley.
    Four teams remain alive – Hackleburg, which eliminated Brantley, as well as Waterloo, Leroy and Skyline. Waterloo and Hackleburg are scheduled to play Wednesday at 10:45 a.m., and the winner plays Leroy. The winner of that game then moves into the championship round against Skyline and must defeat the Vikings twice to win the 1A title.

      The championship round is scheduled to start Wednesday at 5 p.m.

GAME 1: Bob Jones 6, Central-Phenix City 1

    OXFORD  – Senior pitcher Braden Booth fired a complete-game two-hitter Tuesday and struck out seven to lift Bob Jones High School to s 6-1 victory over Central-Phenix City in the first game of the 2024 AHSAA Class 7A State Baseball Championship series.
    He faced just 25 batters and allowed just one lone run in the sixth inning to spoil his shutout effort. The two teams opened the series at Choccolocco Park’s signature baseball field and will resume the best two-of-three series Wednesday afternoon at  Jacksonville State University’s Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium.
    Game two is scheduled for 4 p.m., followed by game three if needed. Sweet Water and Sumiton Christian will play game two of the Class 1A series beginning at 10 a.m., at JSU Wednesday. All games in the AHSAA Baseball Championships are being live streamed over the NFHS Network’s subscriber-based platform and over the AHSAA TV Network’s bank of cable stations.
     The Patriots, coached by Jared Smith, gave Booth all the run support he would need early on. Leadoff hitter Jacob Pearl opened the game with a single, moved to second on a single by Booth and scored on a double play grounder to give Bob Jones a 1-0 lead.
    In the second inning, Reece Cato reached safely on a Red Devils error, Tanner Hermesch doubled him to third, Cam Martin singled to plate Cato. Hermesch was thrown out at home by center fielder Emory Yoh, but Myles Hammonds then stroked a triple to drive in a run.
    Before the rally ended, Bob Jones was in command leading 5-0. In the fourth inning, the Patriots scored again with Hammonds reaching on his second hit of the game and them coming around to score on Gresham Baker’s fielder’s choice.
    Central (39-4), in the 7A state finals for the third straight season, avoided the shutout with a run in the bottom of the sixth. Yoh tripled and scored on a fielder’s choice by Landon Beaver.
    Cam Norton started and finished four innings yielding seven hits, walked two and struck out two. He yielded six runs but only two were earned.
   Winning pitcher Luke Shumate hurled a complete game allowing six hits, one earned run, walking two and striking out 10. Sweet Water’s Nate Norris was just as effective giving up only three hits, two earned runs, walking five and striking out four.
     Classes 2A and 4A open those championship series Wednesday at Choccolocco Park. Defending state champion Ariton (28-8-1) faces Mars Hill Bible (26-10) at 11 a.m., in the 2A series and Corner (31-7) takes on American Christian (27-16) at 2 p.m., in the 4A series.

 HUNTSVILLE – Westminster Christian Academy of Huntsville and St. Michael Catholic School of Fairhope met in the AHSAA Class 4A Girls’ State Soccer Championship match for the second year in a row Friday.
    While this year’s finals didn’t wring through two overtimes and a shootout like last year’s championship match, the final result was still the same. Westminster (19-2-1) defeated the Cardinals 3-1 at Loretta P. Spencer Sports Complex at John Hunt Park to claim the Wildcats’ second straight state title.
    Senior AnnaLi Weekley scored the final two goals for the Wildcats, coached by Hunter Chapman, and 4A earned state tourney MVP for the second straight year. St. Michael, coached by Brian Daughtery, jumped out to a very quick lead Friday with Maddie Key drilling goal just 52 seconds into the match to give the Cardinals (18-3) a 1-0 lead.
    Less than four minutes later, Anna Collier tied the match for the Wildcats with a goal set up by a pass from teammate Clara Norris. Weekley then took over. She gave Westminster the lead at 30:54 with an unassisted goal, and she managed the match’s only second-half goal with her final score at 64:26.
    St. Michael goalkeeper Raegan Gregory finished the match with three saves. Westminster keeper Piper Blazer had two saves as the Wildcats limited the Cardinals to just six shots on goal the entire match.
    The championship was the second in school history for Westminster. St. Michael has two state runner-up trophies.
        The 33^rd AHSAA State Soccer Championships close Saturday with championship matches for boys and girls in Classes 6A and 7A. The finals get underway at 9 a.m., with the Class 6A boys’ and Class 7A girls’ finals. The 2024 State Championships conclude with the Class 7A boys’ and Class 6A girls’ finals at 11:30 a.m. All championship matches are being live streamed over the NFHS Network subscriber-based platform. 

Guntersville 1, Southside 0
     HUNTSVILLE – Guntersville High School and Southside High School came very close to finishing their Class 5A State Soccer Championships boys’ semifinal match Wednesday night before storms sent both teams to safe shelter.
    The returned Thursday morning to  finish the final 1:20 of the match – moving to the new Turf Field 4 at Loretta P. Spencer Sports Complex at John Hunt Park with Guntersville clinging to a 1-0 lead.
    A new day meant a new opportunity for Southside – and they came very, very close.
    Still trailing 1-0 with two seconds left Thursday morning, Southside senior midfielder Andrea Favero lined up for a free kick on the north side of the field about 35 yards away from the goal while the other players from both sides gathered in front of the goal.  His only kick on goal for the match was a beauty, sailing directly into the mesh of players just a few yards from its destination. It almost went in.
    The Wildcats (25-3-1) and Panthers (25-3-1) batted the ball around for a few more seconds before it finally slipped just outside the net thanks to goalkeeperSlade Mohr as Guntersville preserved its 1-0 victory.
    Guntersville, coached by Zach Ross, took the lead Wednesday night on goal by sophomore forward Brandon Manganaris, who buried a shot off a save deflection by teammate A.J. Shumate eight minutes into the second half. The two teams then battled scoreless the rest of the night – having to suspend the game with 80 seconds remaining.|
     The Wildcats will be looking to claim their first boys’ state soccer championship Friday morning meeting Gulf Shores, a 2-1 winner over Tallassee in the other 5A semifinal match that finished up Thursday morning. The two teams clash in the Class 5A finals at 9 a.m. All championship matches are being live video streamed over  NFHS Network subscriber-based network.
     Guntersville’s defense limited Southside to only two shots on goals. Mohr managed two saves. Southside limited the Wildcats to only three shots on goal with keeper Hayes Cosby notching two saves.

Westminster Christian 7, Jacksonville 0

     HUNTSVILLE – Defending Class 4A state champion Westminster Christian Academy of Huntsville are heading to the state championship match for the second year in a row.
     The Wildcats (17-2-1) downed Jacksonville 7-0 in the semifinals Wednesday at Loretto P. Spencer Sports Complex at John Hunt Park.
   The victory sends the Wildcats (19-7-3), coached by Hunter Chapman, into the state championship rematch to face St. Michael Catholic of Fairhope. The contest is set for 2 p.m., Friday and will be live video streamed over the NFHS Network’s subscriber-based platform.
    Senior forward AnnaLi Weekley took control early for the Wildcats scoring the first goal just 2:09 into the match with a kick off a rebound from a penalty kick. She added two goals in the second half to finish with a hat trick.
     Senior Jasmine Feld had Westminster’s second goal at 12:03 on an assist from Weekley.
Eighth grader Annie Collier managed the Wildcats’ third goal at 15:05 on an assist from Ella Henshaw. Senior Clara Norris scored the fourth goal of the first half at 35:22. Feld scored five minutes into the second half, then assisted Weekley’s next goal. Norris had the final assist.
    Jacksonville (19-3-2), coached by Kimberly Darby, had only one shot on goal – by Sarah Sloughfy, which was turned away by Westminster keeper Jamiah Maxtion. Jacksonville’s keeper, Kelsie Sigler, an eighth grader, had five saves.
    Westminster won its first girls’ state soccer title last season.

AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn (22-24) hits the road for its second to last midweek, finishing up a home-and-home midweek series vs. Georgia Tech (28-17) Tuesday in Atlanta. First pitch at Russ Chandler Stadium is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT. 

“The character has been good and the leadership has been good, but the performance has not,” head coach Butch Thompson said. “(The character) of our club has been there and the last two weekends you’ve been able to see it through their play and hanging in there. Every coach, every player, everybody is disappointed, but there’s still some resolve and fight in this group and I appreciate that so much out of them.”

The game will be broadcast on the Auburn Sports Network and can be heard locally on Wings 94.3 FM. The contest will also air nationally on ACC Network.     

PROBABLE STARTERS

Tuesday – R-Jr. RHP Joseph Gonzalez (2-1, 9.72) vs. Jr. LHP Camron Hill (3-0, 5.23)

QUICK HITTERS

Auburn is 9-1 in midweek games and has outscored the opponent 85-31.

The Tigers are hitting .301 and have a 3.03 team ERA in midweek contests.

The team has allowed four or fewer runs in nine of 10 midweek games.

Auburn’s 15 hits in the series finale vs. Ole Miss were the second most in a game this season.

Ten different players recorded a hit, including five with multiple hits, in the finale.

The team’s 32 hits and .288 average in the series against the Rebels were the second highest totals in a SEC series this season (38 hits and a .309 average at Texas A&M). 

The win in the series finale marked the 100th career SEC win for head coach Butch Thompson.

It marked Auburn’s second walk-off win this season (Mason Maners homer vs. Austin Peay).

Six of the team’s last eight SEC games and 12 conference games in total have been decided by one or two runs.

The Tigers won a 12-8 game against Georgia Tech on Apr. 16 at Plainsman Park.

Auburn holds a 124-113-6 advantage in the series against Georgia Tech that dates back to 1896 and is 8-7 against the Yellow Jackets under Thompson.

However, Georgia Tech holds a 64-56-2 advantage in games played in Atlanta.

SCOUTING THE YELLOW JACKETS

Georgia Tech enters the week with a 28-17 overall record and 12-12 mark in ACC play.

Since the prior meeting on Apr. 16, the Yellow Jackets have won a series at No. 10 Virginia, vs. Miami and won a game at No. 4 Clemson.

Offensively, Georgia Tech is hitting .311 as a team and is led by freshman outfielder Drew Burress with a .368 average, 20 home runs and 56 RBI. 

On the mound, the Yellow Jackets have a 5.98 staff ERA with 407 strikeouts and 184 walks in 385.1 innings.

ATLANTA (May 6, 2024) – The Atlantic Sun Conference released its 2024 softball postseason awards Monday afternoon, as the University of North Alabama had strong representation with five players combining for six selections.

Junior pitcher Alivia Wilken and senior shortstop Haven Kirby headlined the awards for UNA, earning first team honors. True freshman Briley Dover collected both second team and all-freshman honors, while senior outfielder Felicity Frame joined her on the second team.

Rounding out UNA’s postseason selections is junior second baseman Hailey Jones on the all-conference third team. Jones also landed third team honors last season. She and Sidney Bevis were also awarded Academic All-ASUN honors.

The ASUN postseason awards are voted on by the league’s head coaches and includes three all-conference teams, an all-freshman team and five superlative awards.

Regular season champion EKU won four of the five superlative awards, including Maddi Rutan as both the Pitcher and Freshman of the Year, Jeanay Riley as Player of the Year and longtime head coach Jane Worthington as Coach of the Year. Central Arkansas infielder Kylie Griffin was the Defensive Player of the Year.

Wilken and Rutan were the two pitchers on the all-conference first team, as Wilken ended her regular season with a 17-7 record and 1.45 ERA over 174.1 innings. She ranks third in the nation with eight shutouts, including a perfect game in her UNA debut against Samford. In the most recent NCAA stat rankings release May 2, Wilken ranked top 25 in the nation in complete games, ERA, innings pitched, shutouts, strikeout-to-walk ratio and walks-per-seven innings. She was a two-time ASUN Pitcher of the Week this season.

Kirby joins a who’s-who of first team all-conference infielders with her first career selection this season. The senior is batting .314 with 49 hits, including a team-high 23 multi-base hits. She finished with 14 doubles, three triples and six homers to rank among the top ASUN players in each category. She also had a team-high .558 slugging percentage and stole five bags, to boot.

Dover made a splash in her freshman season with a unanimous selection to the all-freshman team and a second team nod from the ASUN head coaches. The former Loretto High School standout batted .315 with 47 hits, eight doubles, a team-high four triples and four homers. She also stole eight bases and tallied a .974 fielding percentage with just four errors on 156 chances at the hot corner.

Frame joins Dover on the all-conference second team following another tremendous season at the plate. She led the Lions and ranked among the conference leaders all season with a .373 batting average, tallying 59 hits and a team-best 32 runs. She got on base at a .412 clip and stole 10 bases on 12 attempts.

Jones rounds out the list with her third team selection. The junior infielder batted .293 for the season, finishing with 48 hits, 13 doubles, two triples and six home runs. Jones ranked second on the team with 33 RBIs and struck out just eight times in 176 at-bats. She was also a preseason all-conference selection this season.

The Lions begin their quest for an ASUN title on Tuesday, May 7 at 5:30 p.m. against Austin Peay. The winner will advance to play No. 4 FGCU on Wednesday, May 8 at 5:30 p.m. The loser will be eliminated from the tournament. The tournament will be hosted at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Ala.

To view the postseason awards, click here.

For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Cecil “Hootie” Ingram, a former All-SEC football player and athletics director at Alabama, has died at the age of 90, his family announced Monday.

Ingram was a legendary figure in the state of Alabama and lived in Tuscaloosa for most of his life. A 1991 Alabama Sports Hall of Fame inductee, Ingram had a long history within athletics at the Capstone as well as the city’s surrounding high schools with a 43-year career that included playing, coaching and administration.

Ingram was born in 1933 at Druid City Hospital and grew up to be a three-sport star at Tuscaloosa High School. He enrolled at the Capstone in 1951 and would end up lettering in both football and baseball for the Crimson Tide (1951-54). A halfback and defensive back who played alongside iconic quarterback Bart Starr, his 1952 sophomore season saw him finish with a nation-leading 10 interceptions, an Alabama program and SEC record that still stands today. On the diamond, Ingram had a passion for the sport and was an All-SEC second baseman for the Tide.

After signing with the Philadelphia Eagles, Ingram would retire without having played a game in the NFL to return to Tuscaloosa where he began coaching at area high schools for the next four years. Ingram made the transition to the college game where he coached an additional 12 years that included stops at Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Georgia, Arkansas and Clemson.

Following a playing and coaching career that spanned 20 years, Ingram’s prominence grew as an athletics administrator. He would spend a combined 17 years as an administrator at the Southeastearn Conference (1972-81), serving as associate commissioner, before moving on as the athletics director at Florida State University (1981-89). In 1989, Ingram returned to The University of Alabama as the director of athletics where he served until his retirement in 1995. Soon after being hired as the Alabama AD, Ingram hired Gene Stallings as the new head football coach, who went on to lead the Tide to the 1992 national championship.

In 1991, Ingram was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. In 1992, he was named to UA's "Team of the Century" as the second team defensive back.

In 2007, he was presented with The University of Alabama National Alumni Association’s Paul W. Bryant Alumni-Athlete Award, recognizing athletes whose accomplishments since leaving the university are “outstanding based on character, contributions to society, professional achievement and service."

– UA –

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (May 6, 2024) – University of North Alabama sophomore Eric Luo closed out the first round of the PGA Works in second place in the Men’s Individual Division, while UNA women's golfer Jahnavi Prakhya looks to the second round in fourth place in the Women’s Individual Division. 

Prakhya's UNA teammate, Allycia Gan, is just outside the top 10 in a tie for 12th place. The event is being played at TPC Sawgrass — home of THE PLAYERS Championship.

The winners of each division are granted an exemption for one event at an amateur PGA event.

Luo entered the final two holes of the event tied for first place before closing out the round in second place with a two-over-par 74. Luo trails the event lead by just two strokes entering the second round. Luo birdied on hold 12 and 14 while also picking up 12 pars on the event.

Prakhya also sits just two strokes behind the tournament leader with a two-over-par 74 after the first round. She picked up a pair of birdies just before the turn to the back nine while earning seven pars on the back nine.

Gan sits eight strokes back of Prakhya with an 82. The Selangor, Malaysia native is tied for 12th place after a third place finish in last year’s event. 

Play continues on Tuesday, May 7 with the second round before concluding on Wednesday, May 8 with the third and final round. All rounds of the event are streamed at PGA.com and the Golf Channel. 

For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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