It’s well known in any sport that slumps happen, but if not turned around quickly, they can spread like disease. The Destrehan Wildcats were bound and determined to not let that happen and came out swinging after two straight district losses against rivals Hahnville and East St. John.
After the Wildcats started district play strong with wins over John Ehret and West Jefferson, they ran into the Hahnville Tigers (14-9, 4-2) and did not fair well losing 16-3 with the game being called on account of the run rule.
Destrehan Coach Luqet said that the Tigers have a strong team but the 16-3 loss his boys suffered was not just extraordinary play on behalf of Hahnville, it displayed a Wildcats team that he knew could play better than they did on March 31.
Hoping to overcome their first district loss, the Wildcats played away at East St. John on April 3, another district rivalry which turned out to have some heated discussions not only from fan to fan, but from fan to umpire.
While far from hostile, the stands filled up by the third inning and it was a battle to the end.
Showing signs of the same problems that plagued Destrehan against Hahnville, the Wildcats went through four pitchers in seven innings and just couldn’t seem to get a handle on fielding at times. Regardless, they kept the score close even in the 7-4 losing effort on Destrehan’s part.
The Wildcats spilled first blood opening a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a Renny Weber single that drove in Joe Harrison.
After their strong opening East St. John seemed to take control, mounting a 6-3 lead by the fourth inning and never relinquishing that lead taking a 7-4 victory against what many would consider a favored Destrehan team even while playing away.
Unfortunately for district rival John Ehret, the Wildcats were hungry after two tough losses and looked to take out their collective frustrations on the John Ehret Patriots.
The first of two straight matchups against the Patriots seem to give the swagger back to an ailing Wildcats team as they boasted home and away wins of 16-0 and 16-2.
On April 5, the Patriots came to Destrehan stadium not expecting Wildcats pitcher Kyle Shnowski to throw some of his best stuff of the season, blanking the patriots with a no-hitter through five innings before the game was called on account of the run rule.
Shnowski struck out seven in the 16-0 victory while Josh Rochelle homered and drove in five runs. Weber added in two hits and two RBIs to seal the deal on a much-needed Wildcat win.
Two days later, the Wildcats traveled to John Ehret hoping to take another one from the Patriots and that they did in grand style. Pitching a no-hitter for the Wildcats the game before, Shnowski showed off his batting prowess homering and driving in four runs on the way to a 16-2 rout of the Patriots.
Jules Roussel and Harrison each added three hits while Trey Watkins and Josh Rochelle added two hits a piece before the game was once against called by virtue of the run rule.
Hunter Tyree got the win for Destrehan to bring his record up to 2-0 and the Wildcats only performed 3 errors in the two game series, something that Destrehan Coach Marty Luqet feels is crucial to the success of the squad.
“It always comes down to pitching and defense,” Luqet said. “The district title normally comes down to us and Hahnville.”
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