When the 6-5A Co-District Champion Destrehan baseball team takes the field today, the team is hoping the Wildcat faithful will continue to provide a decided home field advantage. The seventh-seeded Wildcats will take on 26th-seeded John Ehret at 4 p.m. today in bi-district playoff action, and head coach Marty Luquet and Destrehan will make their eighth-straight postseason appearance.
“We’re happy with our seed, and hopefully, we’ll get two home games. When you start the season 3-9, you’re just happy to get to the playoffs let alone get a seventh seed,” he said.
“Bottom line is that this team likes to play, and that has become more and more evident throughout the season.”
The Wildcats like to play so much that they hosted a one-game playoff Saturday with co-district champion Dutchtown to determine playoff seeding. The Griffins edged Destrehan, 5-3, before a loud Wildcat crowd.
Dutchtown took the lead with a two-run fourth, but the Wildcats nearly tied the game in the fifth all of the action coming with two outs. Sophomore Zack Schexnaydre reached on an error and senior Shaine Babineaux missed a home run by inches, settling for a double. Junior Sam Carriere grounded out to end the inning.
The rest of the scoring came in the seventh as Dutchtown plated three runs with two outs. Senior Hunter Tyree retired the first two batters but walked the next two, ending his day. Senior Jonathan Payne came on in relief, yielding a three-run home run.
Even with the five-run deficit, the Wildcats rallied in the bottom of the inning. Junior Matt Smith and Schexnaydre both walked before Babineaux blasted a two-out, three-run home run to set the final score. Destrehan finished the regular season 21-12-1, 13-2 in district.
Saturday’s loss came on the heels of an exciting 10-7 win against Dutchtown last Thursday in each team’s regular season finales.
In the game, senior catcher Patrick Roth went four-for-four, including two-run and three-run home runs, and six RBIs. Three other Wildcats each had two hits – Carriere, junior and winning pitcher Kurt McCune and Smith. Babineaux scored three runs, and Carriere had two RBIs.
Now, the Wildcats, who were energetic practicing in near 90-degree heat Tuesday, will turn their full attention to 9-5A champion John Ehret.
“We are definitely excited to be playing, especially after finishing district in first place,” senior and today’s starting pitcher Joshua Rochelle said.
“We’re pretty pumped after sticking with one of the top five teams in the state. We’re ready to play anybody.”
Rochelle’s excitement is shared by his teammates, and Luquet said he believes the fans will pack the stands today.
“The school will get excited. Everybody likes the tournament, and I think we’ll have a big crowd. It is going to a good atmosphere, and they’ll be ready to play,” he said.
After starting the season 3-9, the Wildcats have plenty to be excited about because the team has won 18 of its last 21 games, losing only three two-run games to second-seeded Dutchtown. Plus, these boys seem to like each other.
“When you like being around each other, you don’t want it to stop,” Luquet said.
“I think that this group genuinely likes being together. There are nine seniors on this team, and they know that it could come to an end. They don’t want it to come to an end.
“They like to practice. They like being with each other. It has been that way since the summer when they went 29-4 in Legion.”
And what will it take to keep the team’s run going?
“We have just got to keep working and doing the small things we need to do to win. We can’t stop. We can’t let up,” senior Hunter Tyree said.
Babineaux said the key to winning is Destrehan’s approach at the plate.
“We need to play little baseball and do the small things right. We need to be able to get runs when we need to get runs, and we have to play good defense,” he said.
With a win Thursday, Destrehan could host a second home game in the regional playoff round Monday. A Destrehan win, coupled with a Jesuit win against Lafayette, would keep the Wildcats at home to host Jesuit, but a Lafayette win would send the Wildcats on the road.
“Our pitching has been great all season so it was just a matter of find ways to win,” Luquet said about his team’s winning ways. “Once you started to find ways to win, you find more ways to win. This team knows how to win, and hopefully, it’ll lead us back to the state tournament where we think we can make a deep run.”
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