April 23, 2005

Diamond Heist

Roy steals five bases as Beaugh tosses two-hitter in first-round Lady Cat win

By Eric LeBlanc
Sports Editor
(Photo by ERIC LEBLANC)

The Destrehan Lady Cats played aggressively and sticked to the fundamentals in their 6-1 first round victory over the Higgins Lady Hurricanes Tuesday afternoon.

The aggressive play was highlighted by shortstop Gabrielle Roy who stole five bases and was two for three with two runs scored. Also leading the offense was right fielder Kaci Wilson who was two for four with two RBIs, a stolen base and a run scored. And first baseman Victoria Reneau also drove in two runs and scored one.

Leading the Lady Cats on the mound was starter Julianne Beaugh who threw a two-hitter while striking out eight and walking just one. Also the lone Higgins run was unearned.

The Lady Cats started it off in the top of the first after center fielder Kacie Brady led off the game with an infield single. Left fielder Kala Keller then sacrificed her to second. Wilson then drove Brady in with a stand-up triple, giving the Lady Cats a lead they would never lose. Wilson scored when catcher Courtney Berthelot walked and continued on to second, drawing a throw that allowed Wilson to score.

Destrehan added another run in the second after Roy led off with an infield single and proceeded to steal second and third. Two batters later, Reneau put down a squeeze bunt and Roy scored, giving the Lady Cats a 3-0 lead.

Beaugh allowed a leadoff single in the bottom of the inning, but erased both the runner and the next batter on a lineout double play.

Destrehan kept their scoring streak alive into the third inning when Brady led off with a walk. Keller and Wilson followed with back-to-back singles and Brady scored on Wilson’s hit to make the score 4-0.

That score held until the bottom of the fifth when three Lady Cat errors led to a Higgins run.

But the Lady Cats recouped that run and one more in the top of the sixth. Roy started it off after reaching on a fielder’s choice. She then stole second and third once again and Reneau singled to right to drive her in. Second baseman Katie Lassere and Brady then both reached on errors, enabling Reneau to come around to score as well.

Armed with a five-run lead, Beaugh set down the last six batters of the game in order, five of them on ground outs.

And with a ground out that Lassere fielded and threw to Reneau for the third out in the seventh, the Lady Cats took a 6-1 victory in the first round of the state playoffs.

With the win, Destrehan improves to 20-9-3 overall and advanced to the regional round to face H.L. Bourgeois Lady Braves on Friday.

Eric LeBlanc can be reached at EricL@heraldguide.com or at (985) 758-2795, ext. 219.