Destrehan’s Landon Marceaux kept his team from falling behind on Tuesday. Zach Wild took it from there.
Wild delivered a two-out, two-run double in the top of the seventh inning that gave his team a 4-2 lead at Hahnville Tuesday, and Marceaux and the Wildcats held off a late Tigers rally to preserve a 4-3 win in the District 7-5A opener for both teams.
“Really for us, we work for everything, and that’s what we strive for as a blue collar team. These guys keep surprising me,” said Destrehan coach Chris Mire. “It didn’t look good for awhile. We made a few mistakes that will usually bite you over here. But I thought Zach Wild was due for a big hit, his swing’s been coming around and I was very happy to see him up in that spot.”
The two rivals won’t have to wait long to face off once again. They play the second of their district series today at Destrehan, first pitch scheduled for 4 p.m.
On Tuesday, the heart of the game came in the sixth and seventh innings. With the score tied 2-2 and one out Hahnville loaded the bases on two Destrehan errors and a passed ball. Marceaux, an LSU commitment and the ace of the Destrehan staff, dug in and struck out two straight batters to hold the tie.
“He’s just a warrior,” Mire said of Marceaux. “He just continues to bail us out of trouble and make good pitches.”
In the seventh, Ethan West was hit by a pitch, then Bryce Rochelle walked. With two outs, Wild stepped to the plate and got a hold of a Joey Saucier changeup, knocking it down the line and bringing home two runs to make it a 4-2 DHS lead.
“I honestly wasn’t trying to hit it down the line. I was trying to work the right side, but he threw me a changeup and I was lucky enough to get my hands to it and keep it inside the line,” Wild said.
Cameron Galland drove in a run in the seventh to draw HHS within one, but Destrehan held firm from there.
Bryce Rochelle went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI, while Zach Wild went 3-for 4 with two RBIs to lead Destrehan (11-8, 1-0) offensively. Wild doubled twice in the game.
Marceaux finished his day with 12 strikeouts. He allowed four hits and three runs (none earned) while walking two. He went the complete game, outdueling Hahnville’s Joey Saucier, who went 6.1 innings and allowed four earned runs on seven hits. He struck out seven and walked four.
The win was the sixth straight for Destrehan, who defeated Chalmette, Jesuit, Brother Martin, Holy Cross and Lake Charles in its previous five wins.
Hunter LeBlanc went 2-for-3 at the plate for Hahnville, scoring two runs. Galland drove in three runs.
For Hahnville (10-10, 0-1), Tuesday’s game represented a chance to take command in the two-game series between the teams by defeating Destrehan in the game Marceaux took the hill — because of the back-to-back district games format this season, he isn’t able to start both games.
The Tigers came up just short of securing that win, but Hahnville coach David Baudry said the effort his players gave was indicative of a team better than its current record.
“I’m so proud of the way we competed,” Baudry said. “I told them after the game, if we learn something today and compete like that the rest of the year, we’re gonna be a tough out for anybody. Joey (Saucier) did a tremendous job. He got a little tired late. But we had good at-bats and chances, we just didn’t come through with the hit.”
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