Zachary baseball standout named best in 3A, wins Gatorade award; all-state teams chosen
Celebrated Zachary High School pitcher Zach Von Rosenberg continues to reap the benefits of his phenomenal success. After leading the Broncos to their third consecutive Class 4A state baseball championship, Rosenberg was named the Outstanding Player on the Louisiana Sports Writers Association Class 4A All-State baseball team.
Belle Chasse swept the other three top honors, with pitcher Lauren Wilson named the Outstanding Player in softball, Buddy Turnage earning Coach of the Year honors in baseball and Tony LaBella doing the same in softball.
In addition to winning All-State honors, Rosenberg was named the Gatorade Louisiana Baseball Player of the Year. An LSU signee, Von Rosenberg now is eligible for the national award to be given out later this month.
Von Rosenberg was 11-1 with his last victory coming in the state championship game when he scattered five hits and struck out 11 as Zachary beat Lake Charles Sam Houston, 5-2. Von Rosenberg also hit .489 with 10 home runs, 28 stolen bases and 45 runs batted in. He pitched in a state title game in each of his four years in high school, including his freshman season at Lake Charles Barbe.
Von Rosenberg previously made the All-State football team as a punter. He also earned a 3.27 grade point average in the classroom.
Wilson was 20-4 with a .435 batting average and 34 RBI. In his first year as coach, LaBella guided Belle Chasse to its second state softball title.
Turnage, a second-year coach, led Belle Chasse to the state semifinals, where it lost to Zachary.
Class 3A: Byo, Pinkston recognized
For the second year in a row Alex Byo of Baton Rouge Parkview Baptist was named Outstanding Player on the Class 3A All-State baseball team.
Brusly softball standout Bethany Pinkston was Outstanding Player for the first time as were Coaches of the Year Jason Helmstetter of Loranger and Jeri Beck of Catholic of New Iberia.
Byo, a University of New Orleans signee, hit .389 with nine home runs and 39 RBI as a first baseman. He also had 70 strikeouts in 44 innings as a pitcher.
Pinkston, a Copiah-Lincoln (Miss.) Community College signee, was 26-10 with 20 shutouts, nine no-hitters, a 0.63 earned run average and 489 strikeouts in 236 innings pitched.
Helmstetter led Loranger to a 28-7 overall record and its first trip to the 3A state baseball tournament. Loranger lost to Parkview Baptist in the semifinals.
Beck led Catholic High to its first state softball tournament appearance since 2005. Catholic eliminated defending champion and No. 1-seed LaPlace St. Charles Catholic in the quarterfinals before losing to eventual state runner-up Parkview Baptist in the semifinals.
Class 2A: State runners-up share spotlight
While Rosepine and Sterlington had to settle for state runners-up spots in softball and baseball, respectively, they shared top honors with state champion Shreveport Evangel Christian on the Class 2A All-State teams.
Christina Hamilton of Rosepine was voted the Outstanding Player on the softball team, while Evangel’s Bronson Gillam earned the same award for the baseball squad. Coach of the Year recognition went to Evangel’s Sherilyn Mueller in softball and Sterlington’s Randy Carr in baseball.
Hamilton fashioned a 33-3 record for Rosepine with 452 strikeouts in 232 innings. She also hit .510 with 12 home runs and 42 RBIs and 44 runs scored.
Evangel’s Gillam was 13-1 with 114 strikeouts. He also hit .354 with six home runs.
After taking over as Sterlington’s coach in January, Carr led his team to a 26-8 record and a second-place state finish. Under Mueller, Evangel earned the No. 1 playoff seed and won the state title with a 25-2 record.
Class 1A: Titleholders garner awards
After winning wining state championships, Monroe Ouachita Christian and Slidell Northlake Christian continued collecting postseason honors on the Class 1A All-State teams.
Ouachita Christian pitcher Gracie Thaxton was chosen the Outstanding Player in softball, while Ouachita Christian’s Joy Thomas was named Coach of the Year. Northlake Christian pitcher Bryan Picou was voted the Outstanding Player in baseball, and Hanson Memorial’s Ryan Stoute received Coach of the Year honors.
Thaxton was 25-6 with 294 strikeouts and a 0.35 ERA. She hit .404 with 11 doubles, two triples, three home runs and 26 RBIs. She had 12 strikeouts in the championship game. Thomas guided OCS to a 27-6-1 record and the District 2-1A title.
Stoute directed Hanson to the semifinals and a 17-14 record. Hanson was second to Vermilion Catholic in District 8-1A and earned the 14th playoff seed.
Baseball: West All-Stars cruise, 9-1
After a first-game tie, the West rolled to 9-1 victory over the East in the Louisiana High School Coaches Association All-Star baseball competition.
New Iberia’s Stefan Lopez and Nick White, and Kaplan’s Tyler Domingue combined on a three-hitter, and Offensive Most Valuable Player Seth Bamburg had three hits. Bamburg, of Evangel, also drove in a run and scored once.
The first game was called after 10 innings. The West had tied the score in the bottom of the eighth inning when it scored three runs on wild pitches.
LHSAA: State bids awarded
After a one-year exodus to Monroe, the Ladies’ Top 28 girls basketball tournament will be returning to Hammond, where it was held previously.
The vote came at the LHSAA summer meeting in Shreveport after Monroe’s original two-year bid was voided because of scheduling problems during this past year’s tournament.
Tulane University’s Turchin Stadium will be the site of the Class 5A baseball tournament, while the 4A-3A tournaments will be held at Louisiana Tech. The 2A-1A tournaments will be contested at Shreveport’s Fairgrounds Stadium and the B-C tournaments will be played in Alexandria.
Golf: Garon claims Classic victory
Brandt Garon of Baton Rouge Parkview Baptist shot a 3-under-par 141 over two days to win the boys overall title in the Arrowhead Purple and Gold Junior Classic.
Garon followed a first-day 2-under-par 70 with a 71 to edge Arnaudville’s Kelsey Angelle by one stroke. Garon recorded six birdies in the second round. Boyce’s Holly Jenkins won the girls title with a 151. The event featured 77 golfers from Louisiana and Mississippi.
