Simply put, Talan Theriot did exactly what Hahnville has come to expect from him: deliver when it matters.
“He’s our alpha,” said Hahnville head baseball coach Jared Vial.
And the alpha’s fingerprints were all over the Tigers 7-1 rivalry victory at Destrehan Tuesday, a win that sealed the District 7-5A championship for HHS. Theriot drove in two runs and scored another while earning the victory on the mound, pitching a complete game as he limited Destrehan to four hits and one run.
“He’s our guy,” said Vial, the Tigers’ second-year head coach who earned his first district championship with the win. “When he gets the ball, it’s really a matter of when he wants to come out, because he’s a hard guy to take the ball from – especially in these games.
“It’s what he does. You just give him the ball and tell him, ‘Go do what you do.’”
Theriot concurred.
“Absolutely,” Theriot said on his determination to go the distance. “There was no doubt in my mind – I was going to give them everything I had. And what I had, it may not have been my best stuff, but it was everything I had.”
Theriot said it was important to be able to bring the district crown back to Hahnville.
“Around here, winning district is the expectation,” Theriot said. “The last couple of years (Destrehan) took it from us. We’ve got to continue to feed off of this (going forward) and continue to bring it back.”
The senior came through, but there is also ample youth on the Hahnville roster and in a high-pressure game, that can be a factor – it was indeed the case, but in a very positive way for the Tigers. Freshmen Landen Teague (2-for-3, two RBIs, run, double and triple), Koa Romero (2-for-4, two RBIs, double) and Kaleb Guarisco (2-for-4, RBI, run) had long before announced their arrival for the now-district champion Tigers, but proved the spotlight was not too bright for them in their rivalry debut.
It was little wonder the “he’s a freshman!” chants from the Tiger dugout made a few appearances Tuesday.
“It’s what this rivalry’s about – I was proud of our guys for being able to handle the roller-coaster, because that’s what this game is,” said Vial. “(On the freshmen specifically) I knew they could handle this. I had to tell Romero on third base, ‘You’re made for this level,’ no matter if you’re a freshman or not. They’re made for this level – and they played well tonight.”
The game represented the ninth consecutive win for Hahnville (19-9, 6-0). As of Tuesday night, the Tigers were ranked No. 13 in Division I non-select power points (via GeauxPreps.com), which would have HHS in line to host in the opening round of the playoffs.
