Destrehan couldn’t have asked for a better start to the postseason than the result its play yielded Friday and Saturday.
The Wildcats swept visiting Ruston in the best of three opening round Division I non-select playoff matchup between the teams, taking an 8-1 victory Friday and a 12-3 win on Saturday to advance to round two.
Destrehan (25-11), the No. 14 seed in D-I non-select, will travel to face No. 3 Sulphur in a best-of-three that begins Friday at 6 p.m. Games two and three (if necessary) will be played Saturday at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. respectively. Sulphur (30-4) earned a bye in round one as a top 8 seed.
In Saturday’s clincher, the Wildcats’ lineup posted strong numbers top to bottom. Shane Lee went 2-for-4 with two runs scored. John Carmichael went 3-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI. Jonah Haslauer was 1-for-2 with two runs scored and an RBI. Chase Mire was 1-for-3 with a run scored and two RBIs. Luke Bordelon, Brice Harding and Walker Dew each drove in a run.
On the mound, Harding went six innings to capture the win. He allowed three runs on five hits and struck out three while walking none. Carmichael pitched a scoreless inning in the win as well.
Gabe Gaudet led the Ruston (21-13) offense, going 2-for-3 with a run scored.
Destrehan got out to an immediate lead and never let up. The first inning saw Mire drive in two runs via a single to put DHS up 2-0, That extended to 3-0 on an RBI single by Harding. Two runs scored on an error to make it 5-0, giving the Wildcats a commanding lead.
A J.R. Tollett two-run single highlighted a three run second inning that saw Ruston climb within two runs, 5-3, but Dew delivered an RBI single then scored on an error to help drive an answer for his team, DHS leading 7-3 in the third. It never looked back from there.
Friday’s 8-1 win saw a strong outing on the mound by Jayse DeGruy, who allowed one run on four hits and struck out four while walking three. DeGruy earned the win in his complete game effort.
Offensively, the top of the Wildcats’ order did considerable damage.
Brady Mire went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBIs. Carmichael was 3-for-3 – including two doubles – with two runs scored and two RBIs. Harding drove in two runs and DeGruy helped his own cause with an RBI.
Ruston initially took the lead in this one, with Dyson Fields driving in a run on a single to center in the top of the second inning.
From there it was all Destrehan.
Brady Mire tied the game by bunting home Bradly Hubbard from third – Mire reached on the bunt and Carmichael doubled him home to push DHS ahead 2-1 in the bottom of the third inning.
DeGruy doubled next and made it 3-1, plating Carmichael. In the fourth, Dew scored on an error to make it 4-1.
In the fifth, Brady Mire struck again, singling home Lee, then Carmichael made it 6-1 with his second RBI double of the day to again bring Mire home.
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