Destrehan found itself in an early hole, and though the Wildcats cut into a nine-run Dutchtown lead with a late surge, the Griffins ended Destrehan’s season Tuesday. Dutchtown took a 9-4 victory in the Class 5A opening round playoff game between the teams after scoring nine runs in the first four innings of play, including a six-run fourth inning that spelled the difference in the game.
“The last three games, really, we’ve fallen behind early, and it’s hard to fight back when you fall behind good teams,” Destrehan coach Kenny Montz said. “I felt we could put some good at-bats together and get to (Dutchtown pitcher Erin Hardy), but we fell too far behind.”
Dutchtown advances to face top-seeded Alexandria.
The No. 17 seeded Griffins had two on and one out in the fourth when Skylar Boyd’s RBI single got Dutchtown rolling. Page Patterson followed suit with one of her own, and Donae Lowe socked a two-RBI double to make it 7-0. Carly Turner singled in two more runs to make it 9-0.
Destrehan (21-11) began to rally in the sixth after Sarah Boquet’s RBI double got her team on the board. Julie Scheuermann sacrificed in a second run, then RBI singles by Breanna Dominguez and Carla Beck made it 9-4. Dutchtown pitcher Erin Hardy regrouped to strikeout the next two batters to get out of the inning. Destrehan would come no closer.
In the Wildcats final two games, they were held to a combined six runs, including a 3-2 loss to Northshore in the regular season finale. Over their 13 games prior, DHS scored six runs or more 12 times.
“Early in the game, (Hardy) kept throwing things hard, away, away, away from us, and we kept trying to pull it,” Montz said. “We hit a lot of pop ups and fly balls. Later on, we finally made adjustments and started using the middle of the field a little more. But it was too little, too late.”
One of the game’s pivotal moments came in the bottom of the fourth inning as Destrehan had bases loaded and Beck up to bat. Beck hit a hard shot to center field, where Baylee Bourgeois came up with the play of the game, a diving catch that likely saved multiple runs.
“She’s a really, really good player, committed to Southeastern, and that shows you why,” Montz said. “Like I told the girls, as bad as it was, that one play she made was the difference between this being a heck of a game late in the game. Could easily have been a 9-7 game, because I think three runs score if it gets past her. But in the end, they made the plays when they had their chances. We didn’t.”
Boquet finished 2-for-4 with a run scored for Destrehan. Dominguez was 2-for-3, while Beck drove in two runs.
For Dutchtown, Turner led the way at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Blayne Pence, Bourgeois, Lowe and Boyd each notched two hits.
Hardy allowed four runs on eight hits en route to the win on the mound. Beck took the loss, allowing nine runs, three of those earned, on 13 hits.
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