Compared to a year ago, Destrehan did not have much time at all to relax after the conclusion of the prep baseball season – it was right back into the fire for the Wildcats, who began summer baseball play on May 26, a little more than two weeks after the conclusion of its run to the state semifinals.
In 2025, Destrehan entered the summer coming off of a disappointing first round exit, a bit more time to recharge and regroup.
Of course, the short 2026 summer turnaround is quite alright with Destrehan head baseball coach Chris Mire.
“It’s a good problem to have,” said Mire. “There were a whole lot of pats on the back and I think there’s been a bit of a hangover. The challenge with the returning group is that we’ve had to kind of put 2026 (prep season) behind us. We have a bunch of good, talented players back. And that challenge is to kind of figure out again that winning is difficult. We did a lot of things right down the stretch of the season – it doesn’t just carry over, though.”
The first few games of the summer were a struggle. Destrehan (playing under the banner of Streamtech) tied Mandeville 3-3 to begin the schedule. From there, Destrehan fell to Jesuit, 2-1, St. Paul’s, 9-8, Lakeshore, 9-6, and John Curtis, 5-1, to drop to 0-4-1 – several close battles against tough competition.
That Curtis game, however, may have represented something of a turning point.
“We had a conversation about it,” Mire said. “Alright, I know it’s summer ball, but we still have a standard. And so far this week, I’ve seen a different team. It didn’t show in the result of the Curtis game, but I thought we played more like Destrehan baseball.”
It did, in fact, show in the team’s latest result, a 10-1 victory over Covington on Tuesday.
Landyn Dugas went 4-for-4 with four RBIs to lead the Wildcats offensively. Derek Lucas drove in two runs, while Chase Marcotte went 2-for-2 with two runs scored, a double and two walks. Champ White, Reece Surmik and Brenan Mire each scored two runs.
As they’re known to do, the Wildcats got loose on the bases. White stole two bases, while Mire, Marcotte, Eli Prats, Dugas and Surmik each swiped one.
Brody Fairleigh earned the win for Destrehan, going five shutout innings and allowing three hits while walking four. He struck out two. Donnie Hollis pitched two innings of scoreless relief and struck out four.
Besides the time between seasons, this year represents another big change from last year’s summer schedule for Destrehan – the Wildcats are competing in the Crescent City Sports Prep Summer League this year, after primarily focusing on weekend tournament play in 2025.
Seventeen area teams compete in the league. Beyond the teams noted that Destrehan has played, the league roster includes Hannan, Holy Cross, Northshore, Rummel, Brother Martin, Shaw, Chalmette, Hammond, E.D. White and Lutcher.
Brother Martin is the league’s two-time defending champion.
Teams will play league games each week from Monday through Wednesday. Following the regular season, the top four teams will go into a playoff bracket to determine semifinal winners and, ultimately, a champion.
Destrehan loses several key seniors from their semifinal run, but the starting lineup also features plenty of familiar faces. Marcotte, Larry Rodrigue, Josh Muller, Champ White and Derek Lucas are among returning starters to the lineup. Another will be Frank Harding III, who the Wildcats lost to an Achilles injury during prep season.
“We lost a lot of leadership, experience and toughness with those (graduating seniors), but a lot of our offensive lineup is still intact,” said Mire. “And pitching wise, a lot intact. We’re bringing back a very talented group.”
Fairleigh thus far has put together a strong summer thus far on the mound, including two strong games against Covington and Mandeville. During prep season, the then-junior started Destrehan’s Game 3 opening round clincher over Fontainebleau and then followed up in Round 2, pitching four shutout innings in a 1-0 Game 1 victory over West Monroe.
“This is the first time that we’ve just kind of let him go (deeper into games) and he’s been throwing well,” Mire said. “He’s doing what we expect and he looks like he’ll be one of those top three or four for us next year.”
Dugas, meanwhile, is starting to roll at the plate after a standout freshman season.
“I know it sounds crazy, but there were some mechanical things he needed to work on coming out of his freshman year,” said Mire. “He was performing so well, so we didn’t want to start making a bunch of changes this season, but we knew there were some things we were going to work on this summer.”
Last weekend, Dugas played with Luccini National and hit a home run in what was a strong overall tournament for him. Mire said his fastball touched 90 MPH as well.
“This week he’s kind of carried that momentum from last weekend’s tournament,” said Mire. “He’s starting to take another step – which is really saying something considering the season he just had.”
As the summer rolls along, Mire said Destrehan will need to identify who will start at second base, a fourth outfielder and a second catcher – an important spot for the team as it frees up Marcotte, the Wildcats’ usual starting catcher, to pitch.
Liam Buchanan, Mire said, looks to be the favorite for that catcher role.
“This summer for him is about being able to handle the game speed at the varsity level … he’s done a good job back there so far,” said Mire. “He’s a hard worker and he’s been trying to take hold of that job.”
Brenan Mire, meanwhile, has been manning second base this summer – a strong performance there can potentially cement that job for the senior.
The biggest up-for-grabs job is that fourth outfielder, Chris Mire said.
“We have several guys who are going to be juniors who will be competing for that spot,” he said.
