It was one and done for a pair of top-ranked baseball teams that played
Denham Springs last week.
The Yellow Jackets first took out No. 1 Barbe (Lake Charles), 2-1, before returning three days later to a claim a 4-2, 13-inning victory over Catholic (Baton Rouge), which had replaced Barbe atop the Louisiana Sports Writers Association poll.
Although ranked eighth, Denham was only 12-6 before executing its unusual double feat.
"I don’t know if anybody’s done that, and if they have, it’s been a while," said Denham Springs coach Mark Carroll. "Our pitching has been very good all year … and the thing we worked hard on is defense, and I think that made a difference (against Catholic)."
Senior right-hander Jacob Saizon (4-0) was the winning pitcher in both games and even laid down a suicide squeeze bunt to score Andrew Ayres in snapping a 2-2 tie against Catholic in the top of the 13th inning. Denham Springs scored an insurance run on one of the Bears’ four errors.
Catholic loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the 13th, but the game ended on Denham Springs’ fourth double play when Greg Bellelo grounded into a force-out at second base and Karson Cullins was called out for interference while sliding into second.
Saizon pitched seven innings of relief in the District 5-5A opener for both teams. He scattered seven hits and allowed one run after replacing starter Corey Dilley, who pitched a one-hitter through five innings.
Saizon struck out six against Barbe, which collected six hits, including a leadoff single in the bottom of the seventh inning. Saizon then struck out the side to end the game played at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
Denham Springs managed only three hits off losing pitcher Paul White. Senior Trey Douglas scored what proved to be the winning run on a wild pitch in the top of the fifth inning.
Basketball: Natchitoches Central, Peabody rule all-state teams
After winning state championships, it was only fitting that the Natchitoches Central girls in Class 5A, and the Peabody (Alexandria) boys in Class 4A, should reap the benefits of all-state recognition.
Natchitoches Central’s Brandy Broome and Emma Bozeman were named Outstanding Player and Coach of the Year, respectively, on the LSWA’s Class 5A All-State team. Broome averaged 20.1 points and five steals per game. Bozeman guided Natchitoches Central to the state title with only one loss.
J.J. Thomas of state runner-up Scotlandvillle (Baton Rouge) was the boys Outstanding Player, and Hammond first-year coach Brent Grigas, 24, was the boys Coach of the Year for taking the Tors to the state semifinals.
In light of Peabody’s 41-0 season, it was no surprise that Oklahoma State signee Markel Brown was the Class 4A boys Outstanding Player or that Charles Smith was Coach of the Year.’ The 6-foot-5 Brown averaged 32 points, eight rebounds, three steals and three blocked shots per game.
The girls awards went to Beau Chene (Sunset) coach Melanie Durio and LSU signee Theresa Plaisance of Vandebilt Catholic (Houma). Dunn led Beau Chene to its first district title, while the 6-5 Plaisance averaged 16 points, 10 rebounds and two blocked shots for a team that won its first state championship.
Basketball: Dixon, Roy lead Class 3A all-state teams
Torry Dixon of Vidalia and Tina Roy of Kaplan were voted the Outstanding Players on the Class 3A All-State teams.
Baker’s Mike Stephens and Abbeville’s Berwick Hamilton were recognized as the boys and girls coaches of the year, respectively.
Dixon matched his average with 25 points in Vidalia’s state-championship victory over Carroll (Monroe). Roy averaged 22.7 points and 18.1 rebounds per game. She scored a season-high 39 points in games against North Vermilion and Iota.
Stephens guided Baker to its most successful season in history, as the Buffaloes won their first district title since 1965, and finished as the Class 3A runner-up in their first state. Hamilton also led Abbeville to its first state tournament appearance.
Top squads dominate Class 2A team
Girls state champion St. Thomas Aquinas (Hammond) and runner-up University High (Baton Rouge) took the major awards on the LSWA’s Class 2A All-State team.
St. Thomas Aquinas beat U-High, 71-58, for the state title, but it was U-High’s Whitney Bibbins who was voted Outstanding Player on a team that had St. Thomas Aquinas’ John White as Coach of the Year.
The 5-10 Bibbins, a Tulane signee, averaged 25 points, 10.2 rebounds and 5.1 steals per game. She scored 32 points in the state final, which ended with U-High’s only loss in 40 games. White guided St. Thomas Aquinas to a 37-3 record.
Celebrated Riverside Academy (Reserve) 6-7 sophomore Ricardo Gathers was voted Outstanding Player for leading his team to the boys state title with averages of 19.9 points and 15 rebounds per game. Jonesboro-Hodge’s Allen Tew earned boys Coach of the Year honors for guiding his 15th-seeded team to the state runner-up spot.
Track and field: Pole vaulter sets record
Senior pole vaulter Merritt Van Meter of Country Day (Metairie Park) set a girls meet record of 13 feet in returning to action for the first time in a month at the 17th annual Allstate Sugar Bowl Track & Field Classic at New Orleans’ Tad Gormley Stadium. Meter’s third and final attempt broke the previous mark of 12-2 set in 2003.
