PREP UPDATE: St. James, Trinity alive in Class 3A regional; MA boys golf, ACA's Waldo win title

St. James’ Sydney Johnston snags a throw and tags out a base runner in the Trojans’ win on Wednesday. (Tim Gayle)

COMBINED REPORTS

SOFTBALL

St. James one win away from state tourney

Through the first two innings of Wednesday’s Class 3A Central Regional game with Glenwood, St. James pitcher Emily Needham had walked five batters, with one more reaching base on an error. Needham still had a no hitter going but was clearly struggling.

“The first two innings, I just couldn’t find the zone, honestly,” Needham said. “And they were very competitive batters so they weren’t swinging at my misses. But we got out of it because my defense helped a lot. They made some great plays.”

Catcher Emily Darby threw out one runner stealing base and tagged out another at the plate to keep the Gators from taking the lead. Needham’s struggles to find the strike zone even forced St. James coach Mark Hall to send his backup pitcher, Aleigha Davis, to the bullpen to warm up.  

“Aleigha pitched a great game earlier today so I had no problem if it got bad, putting her in there,” Hall said. “But I’ve been coaching Emily Needham for six years. We could write a couple of books on some of this stuff, but at the end of the day I know how tough she is and that she was going to battle through it. So I never once even thought about pulling her.”

Needham provided a pair of important insurance runs with a single in the top of the seventh to give the Trojans a 5-2 win over Glenwood. St. James (33-6-1) will play Lee-Scott on Thursday at 10:45 a.m., with the winner qualifying for the state tournament. The loser will drop into the elimination round of the double-elimination tournament and will need to win one more game to qualify for the state tournament.

In the regional opener, Aleigha Davis pitched a complete-game four hitter and Kaitlyn Hudson went 2 for 2, drove in a run and scored three times in a 9-0 win over Thorsby. In the second game, St. James was in control from the beginning as Sydney Johnston went 4 for 4, drove in a run and scored two more, but the Gators stayed in the game despite managing just three hits and one earned run off of Needham because of nine walks.

“The whole game, I utilized my curveball because that was the pitch they could not hit,” Needham said. “I was getting it right on the edge of the plate. At the beginning of the game, I went through all my pitches and the rise wasn’t working as well as the curve, so we only threw the rise periodically and my fastball wasn’t working as much as the curve so I kind of just threw curves the whole game.”

By the third inning, the senior figured out what was working and managed to strike out 10 batters, but still wasn’t pitching up to her standards.

“Whenever I was struggling, I just had to calm myself down,” she said. “And my coaches helped a lot. They’re very good at calming me down because I would just get in my head. But when the ball was put into play and I saw that my defense was getting outs and performing, it kind of helped me as well.”

Glenwood had managed just two hits through the first five innings, yet trailed just 3-1.

“Glenwood is a good softball team,” Hall said. “They’re gritty. They’ve got several pitchers who can give you problems. They’re not scared of us.”

But the Gators faced a pitcher that could match them on grit and determination. Even on one of Needham’s worst days, she held Glenwood’s bats in check and helped the Trojans advance a step closer in their chase for a state championship.  

“I’m sitting there in the middle of the game and I’m like, ‘Man, she’s pitching terrible, what in the world is going on?’” Hall said. “Oh, she’s only given up two hits and one run. I guess it’s OK.

“We’re teetering on that line. They get runners in scoring position and we get out of it. That’s no way to live. You want to be sharp. But this is playoff time. This game is good for her. I think you’ll see a better Emily Needham (on Thursday) and moving forward.”

Trinity stays alive in regional

Trinity didn’t look bad in its first regional appearance in 12 years, but the Wildcats couldn’t have been pleased with a 9-4 loss to Childersburg in the Class 3A Central Regional opener on Wednesday at Lagoon Park Softball Complex.

So Emma Rose Meldrum atoned for the loss with a three-run home run in the second game, a 10-3 win over Hale County, to keep the Wildcats alive in the double-elimination tournament.

“That was a big tone setter,” Trinity coach Stan Milton said. “She struggled some in the first game and she did a better job in game two, just attacking the ball.”

Trinity (11-13) will play Glenwood in an elimination-round game on Thursday at 10:45 a.m., needing three more wins for its first state tournament appearance since 2012.

“I feel good,” Milton said. “We’ve got to be able to hit the ball because we’re going to face a good team. That’s what we’ve got to do and we’ve got to do it with the top of the order. We have to come out, attacking the ball and put pressure on the (opposing) defense. We’ve got to pitch well and play good defense early and hopefully, it’s contagious.”

The Wildcats fell into the elimination round after losing to Childersburg in the regional opener on Wednesday morning.

“We hit the ball,” Milton said. “Layla (Pelt) pitched well, in both games, really. We just didn’t hit when we had to. We didn’t hit with two outs and we didn’t hit with runners on. Some of our girls that we rely on didn’t come through. But we only had one error so we made the plays when we needed to.”

The Wildcats rebounded in the second game, scoring a quick run in the first inning before Meldrum hit a fly ball that hit the top of the left center field fence and continued over the fence for a three-run home run and a 4-2 lead.

Jaelyn McDaniel and Skyler Beard both reached base on errors in the top of the first and later scored for a 2-0 lead before the Wildcats scored the next six runs to take control of the game. 

GOLF

MA boys win state title; ACA’s Waldo top girls’ medalist

ackson McIntyre shot an even-par 144 and teammate Barnes Trott followed with a four-over-par 148 to lead Montgomery Academy to its 10th state golf championship at the Highland Oaks course on Tuesday in Dothan.

Montgomery Academy won its first 3A golf championship since capturing nine in 10 years in 2003-12. Alabama Christian Academy senior Julie Waldo won her third consecutive individual championship by running away from the field in the girls’ division.

Waldo shot a five-under 67 on Monday and a three-under 69 on Tuesday to finish with a two-day total of 136, 24 strokes ahead of Cottage Hill’s Allyson Bell. Waldo’s 136 tied her with Saxon Skinner of Tuscaloosa Academy (2025) and Frances Brown of UMS-Wright (2023) for the third best 36-hole score in AHSAA state tournament history and the best-ever for a 3A golfer.

McIntyre shot a one-over 73 on Monday and a one-under 71 on Tuesday to finish second overall, one stroke behind Boone Thigpen of Rogers, who was low medalist in 2025 as well.  

McIntyre’s teammate, Trott, was in third place with a four-over 148, followed by Eli Sommer of St. James with a 152.

Montgomery Academy’s team score of 625 was 16 strokes ahead of 3A runner-up St. James, which shot a 641. Whitesburg Christian was third at 642, followed by Weaver with a 669.

Behind McIntyre and Trott was Montgomery Academy’s Webb Baker, who was tied for seventh with a score of 158. Doc McIntyre was 20th with a score of 175 and Henry Robertson was 23rd with a score of 186.

The Trojans, which finished second to Montgomery Academy in sectionals and state after winning sub-state, was led by Sommer’s fourth-place finish. Steve Chung was 12th for the Trojans with a score of 161, followed by Gray Evans with a score of 163. Will Dickey was tied for 15th at 165 and Liam Devlin was 21st with a score of 176.