It took long enough, but the West finally took the lead, and, and ultimately, one of two baseball games in its Louisiana High School Coaches Association all-star series with the East.
The West dropped the first game, 17-7, and trailed until the top of the eighth inning of the second contest when catcher Jackson Staid slugged a three-run home run. The West’s pitching then supplied two shutout innings to preserve its 5-4 victory at Bringhurst Field in Alexandria.
"We finally were able to get some luck to come on our side," said West coach Mitch Fant of Southwood (Shreveport).
Staid, of Lakeside (Sibley), provided much of it with his first-pitch homer that also scored Notre Dame of Crowley shortstop Ryan Leonards and Barbe (Lake Charles) first baseman Juan Rosado. Staid, who is headed to LSU next season, finished the game 2 for 2 with a double. The West then relied on its makeshift pitching staff to complete the victory.
LSU signee and Rosepine catcher Samuel Peterson threw a scoreless eighth inning for the victory. Evangel Christian Academy first baseman Bronson Gilliam picked up the save after a scoreless ninth. Gilliam also hit a 400-foot home run to center field in the fourth inning.
"I’m excited for the kids," Fant said. "They played hard all weekend."
Leonards was the West’s Most Valuable Player after going 4 for 5 in the two games with two doubles and four runs scored. Josh Burris of Scotlandville (Baton Rouge) won the East’s award. Burns pitched three scoreless innings in the first game and went a combined 2 for 4 at the plate with a run scored.
Basketball/softball: Ouachita Christian cited again
After sweeping the Class 1A baseball and softball state championships, it came as no surprise that Ouachita Christian (Monroe) dominated the top individual honors on the Louisiana Sports Writers Association 1A All-State teams.
Pitchers Mark Laird and Gracie Thaxton were the Outstanding Players in baseball and softball, respectively.
Pitching with a torn meniscus in the state-championship game, Laird still shut down St. Mary’s (Natchitoches), 11-0. Not only that, but Laird went 4 for 4 with two triples. For the season, Laird fashioned a 9-2 record on the mound while hitting a team-high .492.
Thaxton (25-7) was phenomenal in a postseaon that included her 8-2 victory over Hanson Memorial (Franklin) in the title game. She beat LaSalle (Olla) in a 16-inning quarterfinal gem, 2-1, and stopped Delcambre with a complete game in the semifinals, 4-1.
Although their teams finished second in the state, Theresa Lombardo of Hanson Memorial and Jeramie Hale of St. Mary’s were named boys and girls coaches of the year, respectively.
Class B runners-up prevail
Choudrant and Avoyelles Charter (Mansura) finished as the Class B baseball and softball runners-up, respectively, but their top pitchers were chosen as the Outstanding Players on their Class B all-state teams.
Choudrant’s Jacob Farrar, in baseball, and Avoyelles Charter’s Cora LaCombe, in softball, received the coveted honors.
Farrar finished 7-3 with an average of nearly 10 strikeouts per game. LaCombe was 18-5 after having made the Class C all-state team two years ago at St. Joseph (Plaucheville).
Converse’s Lamar Boudreaux, and Tiffany Ritchie of Avoyelles Charter, were the baseball and softball coaches of the year, respectively.
Boudreaux led Converse to a 28-3 record and its first state semifinal appearance since 1992. Ritchie guided a third-year program to the brink of a state championship.
Claiborne Christian trio recognized
After sweeping the Class C softball and baseball state championships for the second year in a row, Claiborne Christian (West Monroe) nearly made a clean sweep of the top individual awards.
Chad Olinde was named the baseball Coach of the Year, while senior Jake Bell and junior Kara Anderson were honored as the Outstanding Players in baseball and softball, respectively.
Claiborne Christian won its third consecutive state baseball title under Olinde, while Bell was the team’s ace pitcher with an 11-7 record. Anderson was 18-2-2 for a softball team that won its title over Hackberry led by Coach of the Year Angie Little.
Basketball: Plainview gets its rings
The community of Glenmora raised nearly $6,000 to help pay for the championship rings presented to the girls who comprised the team that won the school’s first Class C state basketball championship.
Coach Dustin Howard had hoped to give each player a ring but realized some of them didn’t have the $300 necessary to purchase one. That’s when he and school principal Sonia Rasmussen came up with some fundraising ideas. The response was overwhelming, and everyone team member and coach was presented with a ring at a ceremony that took place May 18.
"Churches were donating between $250 to $500," Howard said. "People were showing up saying, 'I graduated from Plainview in 1969; here's $500.’
"The rings were paid for at the end of March. We ordered 19 rings: 16 for players, one for the girl that kept stats, and two for the coaches.
"I'm a 1999 Plainview graduate and this memory will last forever," Howard said. "Big things can happen in the smallest of communities."