District champs: AOA claims second consecutive district title, ready for more

The first box has been checked for Alpha Omega Academy as they try to repeat as state champions.

The Lions checked the first box last Friday, when they knocked off Conroe Covenant to win the district crown. Alpha Omega Academy capped the series sweep on Monday with a 7-3 win over the Cougars.

AOA outscored Conroe 26-5 over the two games, with the biggest win coming Friday night with a 13-2 in the six-inning win. But this team has made the sacrifices in order to go back-to-back with the district championships, and a hopeful state title run.

“We have followed the same program we started last year. We practice at 6:30 a.m., and the guys are training. We do mindset training, and we go through situation stuff,” Alpha Omega Academy head coach Casey Collum said. “We are trying to conduct ourselves professionally, no matter what the situation is or the stakes are.”

With the way the Lions district shapes out, AOA can schedule several games that can prepare them for the long run of the season. The district is made up of AOA and Conroe, which play a three-game set for the district crown.

Doing so, the Lions played schools up a division, and even faced some UIL schools. One of the schools they played was New Waverly, which competes in the 3A division and is going to enter the playoffs as the third seed. AOA knocked off the Bulldogs 6-2 in the March matchup, which showed that this team could play with the big boys.

AOA scheduled Thorndale, Rosehill Christian and St. Francis Episcopal. The Lions went 3-1 in four games.

“We’re building something that proves a private Christian school can compete at the highest level,” Collum said. “Our vision is to devolp every sport at Alpha Omega Academy with the structure, discipline and standard of top-tier programs, while staying grounded in a Christ-centered mission. We’re not aiming to be average we’re building something that can compete with anyone, anywhere, anytime.”

The Lions are built on guys who have the experience of winning, and that is what they do.

Senior left-handed pitcher Colton Sikes is one of those. The south paw committed to UTSA, and in his senior season, he has been the guy this team needed.

Sikes has tossed 54 1/3rd innings for the Lions with 11 starts. He holds an ERA of .920, meaning he gives up less than one run per seven innings pitched. Sikes has struck out 102 batters in his senior campaign.

Behind him on the bump is Braylon Volker, who has picked up 26 2/3rd innings in eight games. In the limited innings, Volker has struck out 34 opposing batters and holds a 2.1 ERA.

With the pitching holding things down, the bats are still picking things up as the team has scored over 154 runs this season.

Case Collum boasts the team’s best batting average, getting a hit in over half his at-bats. Case gets over base 60.5% of the team this season.

Three other Lions are above the .380 mark; those are Zane Underwood, Sikes and Austin McCaffety. All of which played a big part in getting this team a state title last year.