History in the Making: Erath breaks through after five tries to host first state semifinal
by William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
It’s the kind of weekend Erath baseball coach Jeremy Picard’s always dreamed of.
For the first time in school history, Erath High athletic team will host a state semifinal event, giving the Vermilion Parish town’s population of 2,400 plenty to be proud of.
When Erath swept last week’s Division III non-select quarterfinal from Jena in its home park – Ross Granger Field – the Bobcats were treated to an overwhelming showing of blue-and-white-clad fans who witnessed the program’s breakthrough moment.
Now that No. 2 Bobcats (23-11) have the opportunity to not only host a semifinal, they can also reach their first Division III state championship game with a victory over No. 3 South Beauregard (24-10), the defending state champion.
Heavy rain pushed the start of the best-of-three series to Saturday at 2 pm followed by a second game 45 minutes after the conclusion of the opener.
The other half of the Division III bracket has the winner of the Westlake-Sterlington advancing to face the Erath-South Beauregard winner in Sulphur beginning next Thursday in a best-of-three state championship series.
“The community is second to none,” said Picard, who has had two stints at the school and served as head coach for nine years. “Last week we had full bleachers and standing room only. There’s no doubt the people of Erath and surrounding areas will come out and hopefully support these kids and give them the support they deserve. It’s going to be huge for the community and the surrounding area.”
Erath finally knocked down the quarterfinal door for the first time in five attempts under Picard, doing so from the comforts of home after four previous road encounters.
The Bobcats ride a five-game winning streak after pitchers Talen Landry and Seth Leger, an LSU Alexandria signee, paved the way with consecutive shutouts (10-0, 9-0) for the program’s first quarterfinal conquest.
“For me it was huge,” said Picard, who has led Erath to all five quarterfinal appearances. “I don’t think it was that big for these guys. It was the fifth one for me and I felt it would be a huge accomplishment to be able to do that and get that monkey off our back.”
South Beauregard is also riding a wave of momentum, having won 13 of its last 15 games. The Golden Knights won a series against Loreauville (2-1) and Berwick (2-0) to advance to their third straight state semifinal appearance.
“They’re still the champions until someone knocks them off,” Picard said of a South Beauregard, a team Erath defeated, 15-3, on the road March 11. “(Head coach) Jeremy (Deville) does a great job. We showed up and played really well and did things well and the outcome we got was really good. That’s early in the year and we’re expecting a totally different South Beauregard team when they show up this weekend.”
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You have to trace the origin of this year’s semifinal run to the end of the 2024 season.
Erath, which had lost in the Division II regionals the year in three games at North DeSoto, finished its season once again in the regional round, dropping a 6-2 decision to Lakeshore in the third and deciding game at home.
The Bobcats had plenty of players returning from that disappointing conclusion.
“With a lot of guys returning this year the loss to Lakeshore was big for us,” Picard said. “It made the guys realize that we have to show up and put in the work every day.”
The pitching depth Picard believed would be a constant for this year’s team became a concern with season-ending injuries to projected Nos. 2 and 3 pitchers behind Leger, a three-year starter.
“Based on our pitching depth we had returning, we built our schedule,” Picard said. “We got to a position where we lost our eventual (Nos.) 2-3 and other guys stepped up and did their job. That’s also part of the reason we’ve been so successful because we had to rely on some other guys.
“We made the schedule based on the maturity we returned,” Picard said. “Not just in the lineup, but I knew what we had coming behind with the underclassman, and that these guys would be able to compete with just about anybody on our schedule.”
With five returning starters reduced to three because of injuries, the Bobcats were able to rely on the experience of four seniors and three juniors to help balance two sophomores and a freshman.
Erath was 7-8 through its first 15 games, losing two of three to parish rival North Vermilion and dropping all three games it played in a tournament at Northwood in Shreveport. The Bobcats lost a 3-2 decision to Haughton, 6-2 to Calvary Baptist and 8-6 to host Northwood, a group of teams that all reached the state playoffs.
“It was kind of a reality check for us,” Picard said. “We had to dig deep and do some things. Once we got past that point our kids realized they could play with anybody, and things started to change.”
The trip to Shreveport evolved into a stretch of five losses in six games. The Bobcats returned closer to home and lost to both Acadiana (5-2) and St. Thomas More (6-3), the latter of which is a Division I select semifinalist.
“Our schedule from top to bottom was very difficult this year,” Picard said. “We started the year at Sulphur (6-4 win), played St. Thomas More, Vermilion Catholic, Covenant Christian, North Vermilion, and Catholic High (New Iberia). Our kids went through a lot of adversity. We had some tough times, but they overcame it, and we were absolutely better for it come playoff time.”
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The setback against STM represented a stretch of 10 games that Erath had played against Class 4A-5A competition.
There were certainly going to be brighter days ahead and the Bobcats began such a period on March 10 with a 6-2 victory over Hwy. 14 rival Delcambre. That turned into the start of the team’s greatest stretch of success with 12 consecutive victories that spilled over into April.
Erath registered its second run-rule victory of the season in a 15-3 romp over South Beauregard.
The Bobcats rode that momentum into District 5-3A play where they overwhelmed the competition, 45-3, to win the league in undefeated fashion.
“It was a matter of weathering the storm, playing some really tough teams, and our kids understanding we were doing that for a purpose,” Picard said. “Up until that point, we had really played only one team (South Beauregard) in our division. It helped our kids realize that we were getting to play teams that we’re going to see throughout the playoffs and we’re doing what we’re doing. It made them realize if we continue to do the things we need to do, we can make the run that we’re currently making.”
The end of Erath’s streak also featured wins over St. Louis Catholic (11-3), Division III select quarterfinalist, and E.D. White (7-3), a Division II select state semifinalist, before a three-game losing streak to three teams currently playing in semifinal action this weekend – Covenant Christian (14-5), Catholic-New Iberia (4-1) and Vermilion Catholic (1-0).
A 10-0 win over Notre Dame capped the regular season, leading to an opening-round bye.
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Pitching has been at the forefront of Erath’s success in the playoffs with three shutouts in four games and a 2.43 team earned run average for the season.
The right-handed Leger (8-2, 1.33 ERA) has been the team’s ace, striking out 74 batters with 30 walks in 73.1 innings. Junior Talen Landry’s another right-hander who’s helped the Bobcats avoid potential disaster following earlier injuries at the position.
Landry (5-2, 2.04 ERA, 27 Ks, 37.2 innings) threw a two-hit shutout with no walks and four strikeouts in Game 1 of the team’s quarterfinal, and sophomore right-hander Landen Derouen (6-3, 3.02, 38 Ks) has been another starter with quality starts to his credit.
“He’s been our guy since his freshman year,” Picard said of Leger. “Talen and Derouen came into the year and would have been midweek or relief guys. But with the injuries we had, they’ve stepped up and done an unbelievable job for us.”
Erath also features depth out of its bullpen where three players have made contributions.
Senior right-hander Hudson Guidry (1-2, 4.62 ERA, 19 Ks, 19.2 innings) is part of that mix along with senior right-hander Braxton Richard (1-0, 7 Ks, 8 innings) and sophomore right-hander Carter Champagne (0-0, 4.36 ERA, 14 Ks, 25.2 innings).
Erath’s offense, with a batting average of .298 and an average of 6.8 runs per game, has balance throughout. The Bobcats, who have 58 doubles and 12 homers, have stolen 80 bases for an average of 2 ½ per game.
Leger’s also an accomplished hitter who plays first base when not pitching. He tops the Bobcats with a .380 average, 13 doubles, 1 homer and is tied for the team lead with 30 RBIs. He’s followed by senior catcher Brennan Broussard (.347, 7 2Bs, 4 homers, 25 runs, 25 RBIs, team-high .541 slugging percentage).
Junior outfielder Jack Landry (.320, 7 2Bs, 21 RBIs) leads the team with four homers, with additional impact coming from junior outfielder/designated hitter Landon Lemaire (.337, 11 RBIs, 16 stolen bases) and Derouen, a shortstop when not pitching, (.315, 30 runs, 8 2Bs, 2 HRs, 30 RBIs). Senior second baseman Dominic Frederick has driven in 18 runs with five doubles, 20 runs scored, and 18 RBIs.
Richard, an outfielder, is coming off quite a performance in last week’s quarterfinal series, going 4 of 6 performance (.667) with 6 RBIs, a double, and an inside-the-park home run. Derouen was 6 of 8 (.750) with 6 RBIs, two doubles, and a triple.
“It’s pick your poison,” Picard said of his offense. “We have guys at the top of the lineup that can run. We have guys in the middle of the lineup that can really swing it, and we’ve guys at the bottom of the lineup that can run and handle the bat. On any given day it really depends. We’ve had different guys that stepped up in both series. Our guys are able to do a little bit of everything and put a little pressure on you.
“Lemaire was hitting at the bottom (of the lineup) early and is now doing good for us at the top,” Picard said. “Derouen is experienced beyond his years. He hit all last year for us as a freshman. He’s got that experience and did a great job last weekend of scoring runners when they were in position. Leger and Broussard have been big for us for a couple of years.”
Picard admitted some concern going into the first-round bye, but his team’s effort during that week in practice and their postseason success – four wins by a combined 42-2 – provided him with every reason to believe they’re focused on the task at hand.
“The last three weeks of practice, and the way these guys have gone about their business, have been the best three weeks we’ve had all year long,” he said. “I feel we’re playing really well these last two series in all phases of the game. When you play the schedule we play, you can sometimes have doubts because of the competition you’re facing, and the really good arms and you start to wonder. When our guys settled in for the playoff time they’ve been playing really well. We’ve gotten hot at the right time.”