UPDATED: FCA Jason Armstrong Tourney arrives with local teams ready to battle
By TIM GAYLE
The 28th annual FCA Jason Armstrong Memorial Baseball Tournament kicks off on Monday afternoon with games at Riverwalk Stadium and Paterson Field, culminating in a special presentation on March 10 at Riverwalk Stadium.
The “Message from the Mound” will feature former Major League Baseball star Darryl Strawberry. Instead of an annual banquet with COVID restrictions, FCA officials will used the stadium as the backdrop for the River Region’s high school athletes to listen to Strawberry, a four-time World Series champion who was suspended three times by Major League Baseball for substance abuse and had several run-ins with the legal system before becoming a born-again Christian.
Strawberry was the first pick in the 1980 MLB draft by the New York Mets and was the Rookie of the Year after joining the MLB team in 1983. He was an integral part of the Mets’ 1986 World Series team and played for the Mets (1983-90), Los Angeles Dodgers (1991-93) San Francisco Giants (1994) and New York Yankees (1995-99), winning three World Series with the Yankees.
The popular high school baseball tournament opens Monday with two games at Riverwalk and another at Paterson Field and will continue through Saturday at both locations.
The tournament has a distinctly local flavor this year as COVID restrictions keep teams from traveling. The only teams not from the tri-county area are Luverne, Chilton County and Providence Christian.
Other participants include Tallassee, Montgomery Academy, Pike Road, Brewbaker Tech, Catholic, Trinity, Billingsley, LAMP, Alabama Christian, St. James, Elmore County, Jeff Davis, G.W. Carver, Robert E. Lee and Prattville Christian Academy.
The Fellowship of Christian Athletes also holds a softball tournament for area teams. The second annual Alex Wilcox Memorial Softball Tournament will be held March 26-27 at Lagoon Park Softball Complex. Last year’s event was among the canceled events by state leaders in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
FCA Jason Armstrong Tournament schedule
Monday results
Riverwalk Stadium
Tallassee 2, Montgomery Academy 2 (tie)
Pike Road 12, Luverne 1
Paterson Field
Catholic 14, Brewbaker Tech 4 (6 innings)
Tuesday schedule - ALL GAMES RAINED OUT
Riverwalk Stadium
Trinity vs Billingsley
Catholic vs LAMP
Alabama Christian vs Tallassee
Paterson Field
St. James vs Elmore County
Luverne vs Jeff Davis
Montgomery Academy vs G.W. Carver
Wednesday results
Riverwalk Stadium
Alabama Christian 3, Trinity Presbyterian 3 (tie)
Elmore County 7, G.W. Carver 6 (6 inn.)
Brewbaker Tech 4, R.E. Lee 4 (tie)
Paterson Field
Stanhope Elmore 7, St. James 5 (9 inn)
Pike Road 11, LAMP 3
Luverne vs. Jeff Davis
Thursday results
Riverwalk Stadium
Chilton County 2, Trinity 0
St. James 3, Chilton County 0
Prattville Christian 19, Jeff Davis 2
Paterson Field
Pike Road 22, Billingsley 0
Elmore County 8, Montgomery Academy 1
Providence Christian 7, Alabama Christian 0
Friday results
Riverwalk Stadium
Providence Christian 3, Trinity 2
St. James 3, Providence Christian 1
Montgomery Academy vs LAMP
Paterson Field
Prattville Christian 11, Brewbaker Tech 0
Catholic 9, Alabama Christian 6
Saturday schedule
Paterson Field
10 a.m.: St. James vs Trinity
12 p.m.: Prattville Christian vs Alabama Christian
2 p.m.: Catholic vs Jeff Davis