‘What they did was pretty amazing’: Decades-long barriers fall in Newman’s road to state title
by William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
Each morning, since his team’s Division III select state championship on May 16, Newman baseball coach Patrick Adams has started each day glancing at his wife, that’s resulted in an ear-to-ear smile.
“It’s still pretty surreal,” he said. “When does it not feel like it’s not a dream? Maybe never, but it’s pretty cool. It still really hasn’t sunken in.”
Second-seeded Newman, facing elimination in the state tournament at McMurry Park in Sulphur, put together its best offensive baseball of the season and complemented that with effective pitching and defense for consecutive victories of 13-6 and 15-12 to defeat top-seeded University High in the best-of-three Division III select state championship.
The state title was the first for the Greenies (30-8) since 2003 and third overall.
“We’ve been talking about this for three years,” said Adams, who completed his sixth season as the school’s head coach. “We knew this core group here, these six seniors, with five of them having played together since they were seven on the same travel team. Ninety percent of the time, this senior class took care of things themselves. The leadership was tremendous from those guys. It’s going to be hard to duplicate that.
“We also had support from the classes below them, and we wondered if this could be the actual year that it could be done,” Adams said. “Not that it was a sure thing. It wouldn’t be a surprise if we stayed healthy, we stayed together, and continued to work, that this could possibly be the year. That we could do something special.”
Newman divided the first 10 games of the season before truly taking off. After a 7-6 loss to Class 3A Erath, the Greenies won the final 13 games of the regular season and extended that streak to 15 games until a 3-2 setback to Notre Dame in the first game of the state quarterfinal series.
The Greenies answered with 2-1 and 8-3 victories to cross their first quarterfinal hurdle in 14 years before hosting and sweeping The Dunham School of Baton Rouge in the semifinals.
“After the quarters, it was kind of like a load was taken off, just the entire program,” Adams said. “My message to them, ‘That was a great accomplishment, but we didn’t come this far to come this far.’ We said that after the semis, too. It was one of the most amazing feelings to win the semifinal series against Dunham, which wasn’t an 11th seed. They were so good.
“After the semis, and as good as we felt, we told the guys we didn’t come this far to come this far,” Adams said. “One of our assistants said, ‘Why not us? That was our mantra going forward.”
The foundation of this year’s team centered around a group of multi-year starters who were bounced in the 2025 state regionals by eventual state champion Catholic-New Iberia.
Catcher Charles Wilson and ace pitcher Christian Sauska, a returning Class 2A honorable mention All-State selection and Penn signee, were the headliners and were co-captains with Collier Villere and Jack Falgoust. George Loop and Henry Haber were two additional members of the senior class.
Loop returned after sustaining an injury in football that sidelined him for his entire junior season.
“He said he was coming back to play senior season even though he committed to Dartmouth for football,” Adams said. “He wanted to be part of the team again. He was a difference maker, too. He made our outfield stronger, made our lineup stronger.”
Newman’s pitching was a force throughout, putting together a sterling 2.56 earned run average. The Greenies defense was equally solid with a .958 fielding percentage and was responsible for turning 46 double plays, with Villere’s accounting for a team-high 14.
Sauska was 10-1 with a 1.377 earned run average. He threw 14 complete games in 81.1 innings, walking 33 with 110 strikeouts. His two-hit shutout over Jesuit (4-0) was among his highlights that he exceeded three weeks later in a 10-0 run-rule win over eventual Division II select state champion, St. Charles.
After carrying a perfect game into the sixth, Sauska finished with his first career no-hitter against St. Charles, with Atticus LaFleur homering and contributing five RBIs.
LaFleur, the team’s clean-up batter, and Thomas Smallpage, the team’s top courtesy runner, were two players who didn’t join the baseball team until the third or fourth week of the season following their contributions to the Division IV state semifinalist soccer team.
“We felt we could compete with them,” Adams said of St. Charles. “They had our number for the past few years, and Christian wanted that game. I have a lot of respect for (head coach) Wayne (Stein) and St. Charles. We’re good friends. He even said this was a different team I had, and that was echoed by a few people. The guy behind the plate is a difference maker and Christian on the mound. It was nice to hear that from your colleagues. This team looked different; there was something about them.”
Falgoust (5-2, 2.558 ERA, 52 IPs, 52 strikeouts, 36 walks) was part of Newman’s pitching depth that extended to Villere (5-1, 1 SV, 37.1 IP, 21 walks, 40 Ks), Augie Sauska (5-1, 2.09 ERA, 34.2 IP, 24 Ks, 18 BBs) and Peter Barras (3-0, 1 SV, 1.647 ERA, 17 IPs, 14 Ks, 13 BBs).
Adams pointed to a pivotal game that factored in his team’s growth.
Newman faced Erath, the 2025 Division III non-select state runner-up, in a neutral site game played at St. Charles. The Greenies held a one-run lead going into the fifth before a lightning delay halted play.
The Bobcats rallied after the stoppage in play for a 7-6 victory.
“I think the team was disappointed that we let that one slip away,” Adams said. “That could have been a good jumping point. They were never too high or too low. They practiced the same way after winning as they did after a loss. They practiced with intent.”
Newman responded with a 4-0 victory over Haynes Academy, triggering a torrid stretch of 13 consecutive wins, which featured back-to-back wins over District 9-4A foes Archbishop Shaw (5-1) and Belle Chasse (6-1). The Greenies also shut out Division III non-select semifinalist Doyle (3-0) and outscored their two District 10-2A foes – South Plaquemines and Country Day – by a total of 23-2.
They completed that stretch with a pair of wins over Class 5A teams – H.L. Bourgeois (9-1) and Mandeville (5-2) – before turning their attention to the playoffs, where they were the No. 2-seeded team.
“At some point you get on this winning streak, and you don’t really talk about it, you just keep playing game after game,” said Adams, whose team had five run-rule wins and four shutouts among that streak. “All of a sudden, someone says, ‘You’ve got eight in a row.’. That’s awesome. Then you’re looking at double digits. Some of the opponents we played made it special to have that streak.
“Getting that last game at Mandeville was a great win for us,” Adams said. “That’s a good baseball team. We wanted to play that game against someone that we would challenge, and they would challenge us to get us prepared for the playoffs. To go there, play well, and get that win was such a confidence boost.”
No. 15 Northlake Christian posed a bigger problem in the first game of the regional series than its seeding would have suggested.
Newman went with Falgoust in the opener and turned to Villere, whose three-quarter release is a challenge for opponents. Villere worked the final two innings, and Falgoust delivered a walk-off, bases-loaded single in the bottom of the seventh for a 4-3 victory.
“Collin is another of our unsung heroes,” Adams said. “I told the kids that it was playoff baseball. That’s the kind of games we were going to be in the rest of the year if we’re going to get anywhere, we wanted to get.”
Christian Sauska’s dominance played a large role in Newman’s 6-1 clinching victory to get past the second round for the first time in 14 years, and only the second in 22 years.
Rain pushed the start back a day for the quarterfinal round with Notre Dame, creating a doubleheader on Saturday at 2 and 7 p.m.
The Pioneers of Acadia Parish stopped the Greenies’ 15-game winning streak with a 4-2 victory, and because of the close proximity of Avenger Field to Newman High, the team bused back to its campus.
“We were one pitch away twice from winning that game, and kudos to Notre Dame, they got it done,” Adams said. “Emotionally, it was a tough loss for us. We spent 30 minutes in the locker room. We knew we had our dude (Christian Sauska) going, and we said we didn’t have to win twice that day; we just had to win once. When they got back on the bus, they were ready.
“The parents wanted to come to school and give us a sendoff,” Adams said. “Christian was throwing. They were very positive going into the game. They felt if they could get to game three, then we had the advantage again. I don’t think we ever thought we just had our winning streak broken. It wasn’t about that. It was more about, ‘If we want to keep our season going. We’ve just got to win today and win again tomorrow.’ We had goals that we wanted to reach, and we just needed to win that first game.”
Sauska allowed six hits over six innings and struck out eight, and Villere came in for an inning in relief in a 2-1 win.
“The key was zero walks,” Adams. “We felt really good going into game three. We felt we had kind of an advantage because we survived their lefty, who we knew was really good in game two.”
Augie Sauska, Christian’s younger brother, got the start and allowed a run in four innings, and Barras pitched three innings in relief.
Newman blew the game open in the bottom with seven runs in the fourth inning. LaFleur’s two-run double gave his team the lead for good at 2-1, a consecutive bases-loaded hit by pitch forced in two more runs, and Falgoust cleared the bases with a double.
Dunham had upset the Nos. 6 and 3 seeds, respectively, to oppose Newman in another home semifinal.
“We played a lot of close games in the playoffs, and when we got to the Dunham series, that really helped us,” Adams said. “They had kind of rolled through their series. They really weren’t challenged. When it got down to it, we had been in that position before, and it just helped being in those close games.”
Christian Sauska turned in a complete-game masterpiece, scattering five hits, walking one, and striking out eight in a 4-1 triumph.
Newman overcame a 1-0 deficit with four runs in the sixth. LaFleur’s suicide squeeze bunt scored Tanner Robert to break a 1-all tie. Villere’s sacrifice fly made it 3-1, and the Greenies took advantage of consecutive bases-loaded hit batsmen for their final run.
The combination of Falgoust, Augie Sauska, and Villere was enough for Newman, especially Villere, who worked 2.1 innings in relief after the Tigers had taken a 2-1 lead.
The Greenies exploded for six runs in the top of the seventh for an 8-2 win. Christian Sauska’s sacrifice fly was the first run of the inning, which also included a bases-loaded hit batter and run-scoring hits from Malcolm Schairer, a single, and Loop, a double over the head of the center fielder.
“Winning that quarterfinal was a big pressure off myself, a big pressure off the program, and we got to host the semifinals,” Adams said. “The atmosphere for all three weekends was nothing we had ever experienced. We had such an advantage. We had a large student section next to our dugout that energized the kids.”
Newman’s first appearance in a state championship since ’03 turned into a season on the brink in a 4-2 loss to U-High in the opening game. The Greenies had misplayed a pair of balls in the air that led to three runs in the third inning.
“This was different than the Notre Dame game,” Adams said. “We had about a three-hour window (in between games). We really didn’t have that much time to think about the first time. This game, we had to think about it overnight. We knew their guy in game two was pretty good, and we had Christian and loved our chances with him on the mound.”
The Greenies erupted for their most runs in more than a month, scoring nine times in the first two innings in a 13-6 victory to even the series.
Falgoust doubled twice and scored twice, and Schairer’s RBI-triple made it 4-0 in the first. Wilson, an Amherst (Mass.) College signee, slugged a three-run double in the fifth. Falgoust and Sauksa each doubled in runs, and LaFleur accounted for an 8-0 lead with a two-run single.
That left the question for Adams and his staff to come up with what they felt was the best matchup in Game 3. After several scenarios, Adams decided before leaving the team’s hotel to go with Villere to ensure he got innings in the make-or-break game.
“I was worried if we didn’t have a good start, we wouldn’t get the chance to use Villere,” he said.
Villere had an eight-pitch first inning, and Newman backed him with a 3-0 lead.
The Cubs, the 2024 state champion and 2025 state runner-up, tied the game with three runs in the second, and Adams went to Augie Sauska in the third.
“When I took him out, I asked Collin to keep his arm warm at shortstop,” Adams said. “I told him we would bring back to close the game. Credit to our dudes.”
Newman regained a 5-4 lead and took a 10-4 advantage with five runs. Falgoust, named the game’s Outstanding Player, drove in three runs over the last three innings – including a two-run single in the fifth – and Wilson also added a two-run homer.
Adams praised the efforts of Wilson, which included a .986 fielding percentage, 237.1 innings caught, four pick-offs, and three double plays.
“He’s the absolute real deal,” he said. “We don’t win without him. Christian was Christian. He was 10-1 and pitched all of our big games, and Charles caught every single game. He had seven passed balls in over 4,000 pitches. He threw out 40% of the runners. They didn’t even try to run on him, to be honest.”
Wilson was one of three players at .333 to bat over .300 for the season, trailing LaFleur (.353). He led the team with 37 hits and seven doubles, to go with 21 RBIs, two homers, and drew a team-best 31 walks.
LaFleur led the Greenies with a .529 slugging percentage and 35 RBIs. He also had six doubles, two homers, and six stolen bases, while Falgoust batted .291, tied LaFleur for the team lead in doubles, but had team highs in runs scored (42) and stolen bases (26 of 27) with 25 RBIs.
Barras has also given the Greenies solid defense (.979 defensive percentage, 8 double plays) with Villere fielding at a .947 clip.
“This offense always got key hits in certain situations when needed,” Adams said. “We just had this offensive outburst in games. We worked at it; it wasn’t something that just happened. We were going to the opposite field; we stole some bases. All the things we worked on paid off offensively in the state finals.”
Newman carried a 15-8 lead into the bottom of the seventh but had to hold off a furious charge before celebrating.
Jarius Hamilton’s three-run homer in the sixth was part of the Cubs’ late rally, and Shephard Gammons had two RBIs in the seventh.
Adams went back to Villere in the seventh before bringing in Barras with two outs. A walk to his first batter loaded the bases when Barras got a fly ball to Loop in center, concluding the highest-scoring final in Class 2A/Division III history.
“I didn’t think about it until after the game that the dude at the plate could end the game with one swing,” Adams said. “We had a seven-run lead going into the final inning. If you can’t get three outs before they score seven, I don’t know how to recover from that as a coach, player, and organization. Peter got him out in front of a breaker, and when I saw George camped under it, all I said was, ‘Just catch it, George. Just catch it.’”
Had Barras been unable to stop U-High’s uprising, Adams said there was a contingency plan in place.
Wilson, who hadn’t pitched in 1 ½ years, had thrown a couple of bullpens during the playoffs and was popping the mitt of his bullpen catcher in the sixth inning.
“If that dude gets on somehow, some way, then we’re probably going to Charles at that point,” Adams said. “That meant Atticus would have gone behind the plate, who had maybe caught four innings all year.
“My assistant said Charles looked to be throwing as hard as Christian was in the bullpen,” Adams said. “I knew he could get us an out, but wasn’t sure we wanted to chance him (Wilson) not being behind the plate.
“We had to really weigh those options,” Adams said. “Barras had one more guy. The next guy could have ended it. The more I get to talk about these kids, what they did was pretty amazing.