Hahnville, Destrehan and East Ascension are currently locked in a three-way tie for first place in Class 5A District 6 and it appears likely that each team will make their way to the 2008 state playoffs.
However, with two games remaining in district play, nothing is ever certain.
Hahnville and Destrehan, both 8-5 in their district, do control their own destiny, with two more wins virtually assuring the teams of a playoff spot. The absolute worse case scenario would be if both teams got swept, which would send the district standings into anarchy.
“If we win our next game, we know we’re in,” Destrehan assistant coach Greg Perrier said. “We are controlling our own destiny.”
Plus, the Wildcats have been playing lights out recently and have won five of their last six games. Destrehan absolutely demolished St. Amant by scores of 7-2 and 14-2, split a pair of games with East St. John, then swept East Ascension 12-6 and 8-7. Those five wins catapulted the team from third place into a three-way tie atop the standings.
“We have been playing very well,” Perrier said. “We are getting some good pitching and timely hitting, and our defense has been playing great all year.”
Hahnville has also been impressive over the last two weeks, and the season for that matter, with the Tigers managing to stay near the top of the district all year long. Most recently, Hahnville split a pair of games with both Dutchtown and East St. John, and they haven’t lost back-to-back district games yet this season.
“We are in the hunt for the district championship because some teams helped us out, but we’ve got to keep playing hard and plugging away,” Hahnville head coach Kade Rogers said. “You can never be happy with where you’re at, so you always have to keep working hard.”
Hahnville will wrap up the season with a pair of games with St. Amant, while Destrehan will end district play with two games against Dutchtown. If Hahnville wins both of those games, combined with a Destrehan split with Dutchtown and an East Ascension split with East St. John, the Tigers would win the district championship. If Destrehan wins both games against Dutchtown, while Hahnville and East Ascension split, the Wildcats would win district.
Destrehan lost to Dutchtown 8-7 in their only meeting this year, while Hahnville beat St. Amant 4-1.
“These last two games are very, very important,” Rogers said. “If we win both games, we are almost guaranteed a spot in the playoffs. In this district though, you can never tell.”
Perrier also knows the importance of these last two district contest.
“This team had two goals when they entered the season,” Perrier said. “They not only wanted to win a state championship, but they wanted to win district because everybody talked about how tough it was.”
In fact, because the district has proven to be so tough, it’s probable that four teams might make it to the playoffs. The first, second and third place teams are automatically in, while the state also picks two at-large teams.
Once the field of teams is set, the coaches of each playoff bound team will meet and rank the teams. After that’s complete, an average of the rankings from each coach will be used to determine seeding.
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