Of the seven teams that won Louisiana High School Athletic Association state baseball titles, three were Catholic-affiliated schools.
Catholic (Baton Rouge) claimed the Class 5A championship, Teurlings Catholic (Lafayette) prevailed in Class 4A and Crowley took home the Class 3A crown after winning the football championship last fall.
Elsewhere, Northlake Christian (Covington) won the Class 2A title for the second year in a row, Ouachita Christian (Monroe) was the Class 1A winner, Forest won the Class B championship and Claiborne Christian (West Monroe) with pitcher Joey Bell secured its third consecutive Class C title.
Classes 5A-4A: Winners leave nothing to doubt
Pitcher Joey Knox threw a complete-game four-hitter to lead Catholic past Lafayette, 8-1, for the first Class 5A state baseball title in school history. After getting the final out and the save in an 8-6 semifinal victory over Dutchtown (Geismar) the previous night, Knox handcuffed Lafayette while the Bears’ hitters provided all the support he needed.
“He’s a competitive kid,” Catholic coach Kyle Achord said of Knox, “and I knew he wouldn’t be afraid of the situation.”
Knox yielded a leadoff single before scattering three singles, striking out seven and walking only one the rest of the way. For his efforts, Knox was named the game’s Most Outstanding Player. Six players drove in runs for Catholic, which won its first state baseball championship since its Class 3A crown in 1976. Chris Sciambra went 2 for 3 with an RBI and a run scored. Colin Mancuso and Alex Facundus each scored twice.
Teurlings Catholic also enjoyed a lopsided victory in beating Belle Chasse for the Class 4A title, 15-7. Senior left fielder Steven Blanchard blasted a grand-slam home run in a seven-run third inning after having pitched the Rebels to a 10-0 semifinal victory over Houston [Sam] (Lake Charles) the previous day.
Teurlings Catholic won its first state baseball championship since 1999.
Classes 3A-2A-1A: Finals aren’t even close
In three other romps, Notre Dame drubbed Brusly in the Class 3A final, 10-2, Northlake Christian upended Sterlington in Class 2A, 7-3, and Ouachita Christian took care of St. Mary’s in Class 1A, 11-0.
It was like uncle, like nephew for Notre Dame, which saw another Robichaux pitch the Pioneers to a state title. Austin Robichaux, son of University of Louisiana at Lafayette coach Tony Robichaux, struck out eight in chalking up the complete-game win. Tony Robichaux’s twin brother and Austin’s uncle and coach, Tim, was the winning pitcher when Notre Dame last won a state title in 1981. The Pioneers reached the 2005 final but Austin’s brother, Justin, lost that game.
“It’s a feeling like no other,” said Austin Robichaux, who won two games in the state tournament. “Winning a state championship has been a dream of mine ever since T-ball.”
Notre Dame amassed 24 hits in its semifinal and final victories. Conner Goss went 6 for 6 with eight RBI and Ryan Leonards finished 4 for 7 with two triples and a double. A 95-minute rain delay in the last inning only delayed the inevitable as Northlake Christian weathered the storm to beat Sterlington in Class 2A.
Northlake's Zac Hawkins was the game’s Most Outstanding Player. He collected two of the Wolverines’ seven hits and drove in a pair of runs. He also combined with Timmy Broussard and Bryan Picou on a five-hitter. Hawkins and Picou each pitched three-plus innings in a semifinal victory over Curtis [John] (River Ridge) the previous night. Northlake Christian finished the season having won 25 of its last 26 games.
Ouachita Christian was even more emphatic in beating St. Mary’s in Class 1A. Mark Laird tripled on the game’s first pitch and Paul Michael Garner smacked the next pitch for a two-run homer. Laird, the game’s winning pitcher, went 4 for 4 with two triples and four RBI. The left-hander scattered five hits in silencing a team that had averaged 11 runs per game in its first four postseason contests.
Classes B-C: History repeats itself
In what has become a familiar sight, top-seeded Forest beat Choudrant for the Class B title, 8-3, and Bell won his third consecutive Class C state-title game, as Claiborne Christian defeated Grace Christian (Alexandria), 5-3.
Forest and Choudrant also played for the state championship in 2006 with Forest winning, as well. This time around, junior Logan Pippin threw a complete-game eight-hitter, and senior third baseman Dustin Forsee hit a two-run homer. As for Claiborne‘s Bell, he scattered three hits and struck out eight through 5 1/3 innings. Freshman Zach Osbon provided 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief for the save.
In addition, Osbon doubled twice and drove in three runs, including two with a fifth-inning double. After starting the season 3-11, Claiborne Christian won 15 of its last 16 games.
Riverfield Academy wins Class A crown
Riverfield Academy (Rayville) swept two games from Bayou Academy (Cleveland) to win its best-of-three series for the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Class A championship.
Riverfield Academy followed a 3-2 victory with a 5-3 triumph in which shortstop Logan Moore hit a two-run homer. Riverfield Academy previously won state championships for coach Joe Meeks in 1974 and 1978. Pitcher Kyle King, son of assistant coach Stuart King, who played for Meeks in the 1970s, earned both victories. The younger King finished the season 11-0.
Two schools introduce new coaches
In the hopes of winning a state championship, Archbishop Rummel (Metairie) and Jesuit (New Orleans) hired new head baseball coaches.
Nick Monica, eldest son of St. Charles Catholic (LaPlace) football coach Frank Monica, became head coach at Archbishop Rummel. Less than 24 hours after a 9-8, 10-inning regional loss to eventual Class 5A state champion Catholic, Jesuit appointed Joey Latino. Nick Monica played baseball at St. Charles Catholic and the University of New Orleans. Latino spent the last three years in athletic administration at Jesuit.
