Choudrant, Hicks, Oak Grove, Rosepine Take Home Non-Select State Baseball Titles On Friday
by Hunter Bower // GeauxPreps.com Owner
CLASS 2A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
No. 1 Rosepine 11, No. 11 Doyle 0 (5 inn.)
Rosepine’s Ethan Frey needed just 62 pitches and one hit to help lead the Eagles to their second consecutive Class 2A state title as they took down Doyle, 11-0 in five innings Friday afternoon.
Frey, an LSU commit, worked all five innings and gave up just one hit and a walk while having struck out eight batters in order to pick up the shutout. At the plate, he was 1-for-2 with a three-RBI triple and a fielder’s choice that drove in a run.
A fielder’s choice and an error gave Rosepine a 2-0 lead in the first inning but it was in the third frame where the Eagles completely locked it up after Frey’s triple followed by a Braden Trull RBI-double to up the lead to six runs.
Five more runs followed in the next frame that helped widened the gap to an 11-0 score that would hold until the run-rule came into effect in the fifth inning.
Trull and Jake Smith each collected two hits for Rosepine while Frey led with four RBIs. Trull and Cole Donahue each drove in a pair of runs in the game.
Doyle’s Braden McLin had the only hit in the contest for the Tigers.
CLASS 1A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
No. 3 Oak Grove 2, No. 1 Grand Lake 1 (8 inn.)
With the bases loaded in extra innings and a chance to repeat as Class 1A champion, Oak Grove looked to Luke Simmons to finish the job.
That is exactly what he did as he delivered a single into centerfield to score the eventual winning run and give the Tigers another state title, 2-1, in a rematch from last year’s championship game over Grand Lake.
Oak Grove had to fight to keep its lead as the Hornets got the last chance for a win in the bottom of the eighth putting runners on the corner with two outs. However, the Tigers were able to close out the victory on a ground out to the first baseman who was among the first to throw his glove in the air in celebration.
The pitching was strong on both sides throughout the game. Jackson Bradley picked up the win for Oak Grove with just one run on two hits surrendered over three innings while striking out three. Tanner Duff and Cade McCarthy combined to close out the game in relief.
Despite a strong performance on the mound, Garrett Walker earned a no-decision as he allowed just one run on five hits in 5.2 innings and struck out seven in the process. Kylin Broussard took the loss for the Hornets after surrendering the winning run in 1.2 frames while striking out five.
Kaleb Proctor led the game with two hits for Oak Grove while four different Grand Lake players got a hit in the game.
CLASS B STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
No. 2 Choudrant 12, No. 4 Converse 6
In a back-and-forth contest where each team determined to survive and outlast the other, Choudrant staved off multiple comebacks from Converse, to take home its second consecutive title in a 12-6 win over the Wildcats.
Converse got on the board first with two runs in the first inning highlighted by a two-RBI double from Judge Boudreaux. Boudreaux led the offensive effort for his squad with four RBIs on two doubles.
Choudrant responded in the bottom of the second inning as they took advantage of a couple of errors committed by the Wildcats to take a 4-2 lead. The Aggies plated two more runs in the bottom of the fourth frame thanks to a Gavin Murphy home run to extend their lead by four runs.
The Wildcats again responded with four runs of their own in the top of the next frame as Boudreaux came up big once again with a two-RBI double and Mason Procell’s single.
However, it was the Aggies that provided the knockout punch with six runs in the bottom of the fifth inning in which Kaden Bradshaw drove in two runs while the final four runs were scored due to walks from the opposing pitcher.
Landon Hennon was credited with the win for Choudrant after tossing all seven innings and surrendering six runs on 11 hits along with eight strikeouts.
CLASS C STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
No. 3 Hicks 9, No. 4 Hornbeck 0
Hicks took home a second consecutive Class C state title on Friday after a dominating 9-0 victory over Hornbeck at McMurry Park in Sulphur.
The Pirates (21-7) scored seven of their nine runs in the first two innings highlighted by Connor Helton’s three-RBI triple to give the No. 3 seed an early lead. Hayden Doyle drove in a run later in the inning to put Hicks up by four.
In the second frame, an error and a pair of RBI-singles helped to extend the Pirates’ lead as they took advantage of Hornbeck’s five total errors in the game.
Hicks tacked on a run in the fourth and sixth innings to help close out the game for the state title victory.
Zach Hayman took the win for the Pirates after having worked 6.1 innings with just five hits given up and nine strikeouts.
Aiden Coffman led the offensive effort for Hicks with three hits and three runs scored while Cole Richardson led Hornbeck with two hits in the game.