Local teams appear in first ASWA baseball rankings

Published 2:21 pm Thursday, March 18, 2021

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The Pike Liberal Arts Patriots, Goshen Eagles and Ariton Purple Cats made an appearance in the first Alabama Sports Writers Association Prep Baseball Rankings.

The Patriots of Pike Liberal Arts landed the top overall spot in the rankings on Thursday. The Goshen Eagles didn’t land in the top 10 in 3A, but picked up nominations. Ariton is ranked ninth in Class 3A.

The Pike Liberal Arts Patriots are 11-3-1 in their first 15 games this season. Their only losses came against Bessemer Academy, Heritage Christian and Mosley. They finished in a 5-5 tie against Escambia Academy.

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The Patriots will travel to Pensacola, Fla. to take on Catholic on Saturday. They will stay in Pensacola to play Pace on March 26 before returning home to take on Combine Academy on March 27.

The rest of the top 10 in AISA include Glenwood (17-3), Bessemer Academy (14-3), Wilcox Academy (10-1), Macon East (13-5), Lowndes Academy (8-4), Clarke Prep (8-7), Patrician (7-2), Jackson Academy (10-1) and Escambia Academy (8-4).

The Eagles are six games into their schedule. After a late start to their season, the Eagles find themselves 5-1 on the season with their only loss coming against McKenzie, 10-9 on March 4. The Eagles have since rattled off four wins in a row.

Even though they did not make the top 10, the Eagles were nominated for a top 10 spot along with Montgomery Catholic, Childersburg, Collinsville, Cottage Hill, Danville, East Lawrence, Lauderdale County, Plainview and Wicksburg.

The Eagles will host Highland Home on Friday to close out the week before playing Elba and New Brockton next week.

The top-10 teams in 3A include Hokes Bluff (7-1), T.R. Miller (12-0), Phil Campbell (11-1), Piedmont (9-3), Fyffe (8-0), Bayside Academy (10-2), Houston Academy (9-3), Ohatchee (8-2), Prattville Christian (8-1) and Opp (10-3).

The Ariton Purple Cats are the ninth ranked team in Class 2A. They have started the season with a 6-6 record. The are joined in the rankings by Brantley (4-3), Lindsay Lane (10-1), Lynn (7-2), Bayshore Christian (7-4), Sweet Water (7-3), Florala (4-2), Red Level (5-2), Hackleburg (7-4), Athens Bible (3-4) and Covenant Christian (7-5).