No Seniors, No Problem: Young Lady Comets Soar Into Sulphur
by Lori Lyons // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
LAPLACE – Looking at the youth that make up this year’s St. Charles Catholic softball roster, it might be tempting to refer to them as the Lady Snowballs.
But make no mistake. These are Lady Comets and they are headed to Sulphur this week to do what they do – compete for a state championship. It will be the 21st tournament trip for St. Charles, which won titles in 1998 and 2008.
“All the people before them have set the standard for this program,” second-year coach Zach Weber said. “ They can’t go into games afraid of that moment. They have to play just as if it’s another game.”
St. Charles (25-7), the No. 6 seed, will face No. 2 seed E.D. White (24-9) Friday at 2:30 p.m. at Frasch Park in the Division II Select semifinals of the State Tournament. The winner will advance to Saturday’s championship game against Friday’s winner between No. 1 seed Vandebilt Catholic and No. 4 Buckeye.
It’s a familiar group of contenders. Vandebilt defeated Buckeye 7-3 to win last year’s Division II Select title as the No. 2 seed. No. 1 Buckeye defeated No. 4 E.D. White to reach the 2024 final.
The newcomer is St. Charles, who competed in Division III in 2024, losing in the semifinals to Houma Christian, 6-3. And it might be easy to overlook the Lady Comets with a roster of zero seniors, four juniors, four freshmen, a starting sophomore, and a starting eighth grader. Six seniors graduated last year.
But second-year coach Zach Weber said his Lady Comets should not be taken too lightly.
“They are a gritty group,” said Weber. “It’s my second year here and being able to go two years in a row is special. We’re very, very excited to be there, but just the expectations on our school and our softball program – we’re expected to be there. I think they kind of had a chip on their shoulders to get back there and get it done.”
Junior shortstop Adrienne Arnett said she and her teammates felt they had something to prove this year.
“It’s been a lot different because we don’t have any seniors and we’re super young,” said Arnett, who leads the team in hitting with a .500 batting average and hit a pair of home runs against Haynes last week. “We’re expected to be there. We’re expected to win.”
Weber said he has faced some challenges with his group of young ladies.
“We’ve made adjustments all year,” he said. “Different lineups, different positions. But we’re trying to find a little groove right here.”
The Comets were certainly in the groove last week as they knocked off No. 3 seed Archbishop Hannan, 4-2, in the quarterfinals. Riley Perrilloux had two hits, driving in all four of the Comets’ runs, and pitched for the win. She went 3-for-3 and pitched a no-hitter in a 16-0 playoff win over No. 11 Haynes Academy.
Weber said either she or freshman Katie Bordelon will get Friday’s start against E.D. White, adding both are solid.
“We haven’t had just one pitcher all season,” he said.
Weber said he also is a little bit amazed that his team has hit an impressive 26 home runs this season.
“I don’t think that’s been done here before,” he said.
Junior center fielder Baileigh Tregre said she is looking forward to the trip to Sulphur, but she’s also nervous.
“It’s just a different feeling from a regular game,” said Tregre, who is hitting .489. “It’s the last game, or the last two games, of the season. It’s really scary. You want to meet your goal really bad and not mess up anything.”
But having been on the big stage helps, she said.
“I know how serious it is,” she said.
The veteran juniors are now trying to convey that to the youngsters, including freshman right fielder Emily Kenyon, who will be making her first trip to Frasch Park.
“They’re saying it’s an experience like never before,” Kenyon said. “It’s been a long journey and we’ve grown a lot as a team. The biggest challenge was coming in and starting on the field. Sometimes the expectations get to you and you get a little nervous, but you just have to power through.”
Featured Image Courtesy: St. Charles Catholic Lady Comets Softball on Facebook