Baseball Roundup: PCA and St. Al score district wins; Tallulah Academy run-rules Riverdale

Published 11:14 pm Tuesday, April 2, 2024

A big comeback kept Porter’s Chapel Academy moving forward in the MAIS District 4-3A baseball championship race.

John Wyatt Massey homered leading off the top of the seventh inning, and the Eagles scored two more runs on a pair of errors to beat Franklin Academy 6-5 on Tuesday.

The win kept PCA (15-6, 6-0 District 4-3A) atop the district standings, with a win in the first of three meetings this week with Franklin Academy (6-7, 1-4). They’ll play a doubleheader in Vicksburg on Friday, beginning at 3 p.m.

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Game one of the series was a thriller as each team regained the lead after falling behind. Franklin tied the score at 3 on a solo homer by Addison Spradling in the bottom of the fifth inning, then scored twice in the sixth to go ahead 5-3.

In the seventh inning, Massey belted a one-out, solo home run and then PCA mounted its winning rally in earnest. Thomas Azlin was hit by a pitch and scored on a throwing error on a ball hit by Gavin Pugh to tie it again.

Pugh then stole second and came all the way around to score the go-ahead run when the throw went into center field.

Franklin got its leadoff runner on base in the top of the seventh, but it was quickly erased by a double play on a bunt attempt. Massey then got Gavin Griffing to pop out to end the game.

Massey pitched four innings of relief to earn the win, and also was 1-for-2 at the plate with the home run. He scored two runs.

Pugh reached base three times and drove in two runs, and Evan Gordon doubled and scored a run.

Spradling was 2-for-3 with two home runs and three RBIs for Franklin Academy.

St. Aloysius 14, Providence Classical 1
St. Aloysius 8, Providence Classical 0
St. Aloysius took a long ride to Bossier City, Louisiana on Tuesday and came home with a doubleheader sweep of MAIS District 4-5A rival Providence Classical.

St. Al won the first game 14-1 as Carson Smith went 2-for-4 with two triples and three RBIs, and Keller Bradley went 3-for-3 with a double, RBI and two runs scored.

Laken Bradley also had two hits, two RBIs and two runs scored, while Robert Lee and Damien Reeves scored two runs each.

Clark Hobson and Max Hargrave combined on a four-inning one-hitter. Hobson had four strikeouts and Hargrave had two.

In game two, St. Al broke a scoreless tie with four runs in the third inning and went on to win 8-0 in five innings.

Smith and Barrett Shows each had two hits and scored twice, Hobson, Hobson hit an RBI double in the fourth inning and Laken Bradley tripled and scored a run.

St. Al (10-7, 5-1 District 4-5A) won for the eighth time in nine games. It’ll play Prairie View Academy Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., and Providence Classical again on Friday at 6 p.m. Both games are at Bazinsky Field.

Tallulah Academy 15, Riverdale 5
Tallulah Academy watched most of a seven-run lead slip away in a hurry, then scored eight runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to just as quickly turn it into a run-rule victory against Riverdale Academy.

Riverdale had scored five runs in the top of the sixth inning to cut a 7-0 deficit to 7-5.

J.T. McDaniel hit an RBI double and Denton Ray an RBI single during the closing rally, but most of Tallulah’s damage was done on the back of Riverdale’s missteps. The Trojans scored two runs on bases-loaded walks and three more on a pair of errors.

McDaniel finished 2-for-3 with one RBI and three runs scored. Luke Moberley was 2-for-4 with a double, RBI and three runs scored, while Hayes Hopkins singled twice and drove in three runs. Ray and Brayson Morson scored two runs apiece.

Moberley also pitched 5 2/3 innings and had nine strikeouts.

Tallulah Academy (16-6) won its second game in as many days, after routing Tensas Academy 14-0 on Monday. The Trojans will travel to Parklane Academy on Thursday.