Destrehan’s extra innings loss to Barbe in the second round of the state softball playoffs remains the source of much pain for the Wildcats, but nobody in the dugout will run from it.
“They’re disappointed,” Destrehan head coach Craig Perrier said. “They still feel the hurt from it. Usually with high school kids, after a day or two, it’s over with. Two weeks after the game, some of them started tearing up … it’s not something where they don’t want to mention it. They talk about the loss. They don’t want that to happen again.
“We’re using it as fuel.”
And currently, that fuel is going into the Wildcats’ summer ball work, getting on the field for games Monday and Wednesday each week.
The playoff loss stung more than most – even most elimination games. Destrehan had the best regular season in the softball program’s history. A season after Destrehan’s first-ever outright district crown, the Wildcats swept district play on the way to another. DHS earned the 6th seed in Division I non-select after going 22-6 during the regular season, along the way beating three eventual state champions, including rival Hahnville. Destrehan had an eye on one more first – its first-ever trip to Sulphur for the state softball tournament – before the loss to Barbe.
The good news for Destrehan: the Wildcats bring back the entirety of its starting lineup, a rarity for a high seed.
Perrier sees the hunger and determination in those players’ eyes each day.
“We’re making sure we’re not missing an inch,” said Perrier. “They’re pushing each other. They’re embracing accountability. The details are important. ‘No, coach, that step wasn’t good enough, let’s go again.’ They’re taking charge.”
This will be a senior-laden team next spring. Six Destrehan players have started since their freshman year. It will be a senior class that’s contributed to 68 victories over the past three seasons.
This summer the Wildcats are playing a schedule largely comprised of the River Parishes as well as the Baton Rouge area – St. Charles Catholic, St. Amant, Prairieville, Lutcher and Chapelle among the teams Destrehan’s faced thus far. The games are free substitution, so teams can test their depth throughout.
“Everyone’s getting a chance to show what they can do,” Perrier said. “And it’s like I told them – this is going to be a new season. It doesn’t matter if you started or sat the bench. If you’re a starter, you need to get better. Somebody is going to look to take your position. Senior, junior, sophomore, it doesn’t matter. We’re going to play the best.”
But that’s a statement Perrier knows his seniors can handle.
“They take nothing for granted,” Perrier said. “Having a class like this can set the tone for years for your program. They teach the younger ones the right way.”
Among those who have taken a step forward this summer, third baseman Brianne Gabler has found her comfort zone at the position after starting for the first time last season. Isabel Fontaine played several different positions around the infield last season – she’s competing with Gabler for time at third, and Perrier said she’ll likely play some first base as well. Both players will be juniors this school year.
And sophomore-to-be Lailah Nelson served as backup catcher last year and as a baserunning specialist, and is pushing for an expanded role of her own.
Gracie Bourgeois, who batted third for the team last season, has already collected a few multi-hit game as she builds off of last season.
“She is such a pure athlete – she’s got one of the strongest arms I’ve seen in softball,” Perrier said. “She’s fighting to catch a little more – we’re working on some mechanical things there – and she’s going to be an infielder for us somewhere. She’s going to log some innings for us. And she can flat out fly.”
Perrier said among the goals he has for the team, he wants to see players continue to get physically and mentally stronger, continue to reduce strikeouts – the team cut that number by about 50 this past prep season – continue to improve two-strike approach, and to refine the team’s small-ball game.
