After Destrehan began the season 7-1, the Wildcats hit a rough patch – a late February swoon that saw five losses in six games.
The Wildcats huddled up and rededicated themselves to the standard they set for themselves prior to the season – holding themselves and one another accountable – and Destrehan has played some dominant baseball in the four games since, outscoring the competition by a combined 37 runs over that stretch.
“I like how we’re playing,” said Destrehan head baseball coach Chris Mire. “We had a little bit of a rough stretch last week and had a team meeting afterwards just to talk about what we expect from one another, our standards as a team, and I really like the way we’ve responded since then. We got into a little bit of a funk but started remembering what made us good, and we’re getting back to executing at a high level.”
The most recent of those wins came Tuesday as Destrehan (13-6) defeated visiting Live Oak 5-1.
Landyn Dugas, Chase Marcotte, Dylan Smith and Brady Carter each drove in runs for Destrehan. On the mound, Marcotte earned the victory, going the complete game and allowing one earned run on three hits, striking out four and walking two. Marcotte also doubled at the plate.
Three second inning runs were the key for DHS here, production ignited after the Wildcats loaded the bases. Smith drew a walk to force home a game-tying run to make it 1-1. Carter and Derek Lucas scored on an error.
Mire tipped his cap to the Wildcats’ defense.
“It was one of the best defensive games I’ve seen us play in a long time,” Mire said.
That was the fourth win in five days for Destrehan, the other wins coming 20-0 on Friday against Peabody, 10-5 on Saturday against Covenant Christian and 9-1 Monday against Houma Christian.
A two-run Marcotte homer was among the highlights in the Houma Christian win. Muller also drove in two, while Larry Rodrigue doubled, drove in a run and scored another.
Chase Mire improved to 4-0 on the mound, going five innings of one-run ball. He struck out seven, walked one and allowed five hits.
The Peabody came saw production spread out, but Rodrigue had the biggest day at the plate, blasting a grand slam to open up the Destrehan scoring. Jaden Sloan earned the win for DHS on the mound, going three perfect innings and striking out six.
Against Covenant Christian, Marcotte and White dominated at the plate, combining for four home runs and nine RBIs. Marcotte went 3-for-5 with two home runs, two runs scored and five RBIs. White went 2-for-4 with two home runs, two runs scored and four RBIs.
Muller went five innings to notch the victory on the mound. He allowed three earned runs on six hits, striking out three.
One constant through both the four game win streak and the team’s six-game win streak earlier this season: when things have been clicking, Destrehan hasn’t allowed teams to generate big innings. Eleven of Destrehan’s 13 wins have seen the team allow three runs or less. In seven of those, it’s been one run or less.
“That was the difference when we took those losses, we kind of saw the mistakes starting to pile up, whether it was a walk or hit by pitch followed by an error. I’m proud of our guys for being able to identify it, make those adjustments and get back on track,” Mire said.
If that sounds familiar to Destrehan observers – it should. Last season, the Wildcats began 10-1 before falling into a 4-9 stretch at midseason, culminating with a four-game losing streak.
The team held a meeting – and proceeded to reel off wins in its next eight games.
Destrehan baseball has a long legacy of strong pitching, year in and year out, and this season has been no exception. Chase Mire has been among the staff leaders as a senior.
“He doesn’t give up a whole lot of free stuff. He makes you earn everything,” Chris Mire said. “He’s given us those consistent quality starts we need.”
Muller began the season nursing an injury, but he’s rounding into form, Mure said. And Marcotte has been a boost to the staff this season – Mire called him a “gritty, tough competitor.” Marcotte gave a strong performance in one of Destrehan’s most notable wins thus far, a 6-2 victory over West Monroe.
Of course, entering the season Marcotte was best known for his work at the plate – and that’s been once against exceptional after a strong sophomore season.
“He’s a hard worker and a great leader,” Mire said. “He was voted team captain last year and again this year. He brings everyone together, just a quality kid who his teammates trust. He’s a very skilled hitter. He’s able to make adjustments and he rarely strings bad at-bats together.”
White has also surged out the gate offensively, including four home runs so far.
“He’s a first-year guy for us and he’s been really, really good,” Mire said.
Dugas, likewise, is a freshman off to a strong start as well and he’s moved up the lineup. And Frank Harding was off to a red-hot start to the season before being sidelined by injury.
