A year ago, Hahnville advanced to the Class 5A state championship game before dropping the title to St. Thomas More, 4-3. This Friday, the Lady Tigers are hoping for some payback when they face STM in the state quarterfinals in Sulphur.
“We see this as a continuation of last year’s game and we are back for revenge,” Hahnville senior Elise deBruler said.
DeBruler is one of the many Hahnville players who remember last year’s heartbreaking defeat. In fact, eight of the current Lady Tiger starters played in that championship game and 18 of the 20 players who were on the roster last year returned this season.
That experience has been key all year for Hahnville, who finished the regular season with a 27-3 record. In the first round of the playoffs, the Lady Tigers blew away Terrebonne 10-0 and then held on against Slidell for a 1-0 win in regionals.
In that regional victory, Hahnville pitcher Hannah Haydel tossed a no-hitter and junior Amye Barre gave her team the victory with a home run in the sixth inning.
Hahnville head coach Kenneth Vial said his squad always seems to find a way to win.
“We pitched good against Slidell and played good defense. We are a team that can win in several different ways,” he said. “We are not going to beat ourselves.”
But Vial knows that his team must play one of their best games of the year in order to knock off STM and return to the semifinals.
“STM is the defending state champs and they have won titles in two of the last three years,” he said. “They are disciplined hitters and they don’t miss an opportunity to score…and they score in bunches.”
Vial said the Lady Cougars also have two “SEC” type players in Shellie Landry and Sarah Arceneaux. Landry, a junior, has committed to UL. She earned all-state honors as a sophomore last season after hitting .455 with seven home runs and 48 RBIs.
Arceneaux is also an impressive hitter and gobbles up anything that comes her way at shortstop.
Vial also describes STM’s pitcher, Nicole Habetz, as crafty and able to keep hitters off balance.
“With all that said though, we can win and our kids know we can win,” Vial said.
Hahnville and STM have already faced off once this season, with the Lady Cougars coming away with a 5-2 victory. But even though the Lady Tigers lost, Vial said it was important that his squad got an early look at STM, knowing that both could meet up in the postseason.
“When we played them last year in the state championship, I really didn’t know much about them,” Vial said. “I scheduled to play them early this season so that we could see how they play. The girls were devastated that we lost, but I told them that we got the info we needed and I considered that a success.
“We didn’t have to beat them in February…we have to beat them in April.”
This is the third straight year that Hahnville will play in Sulphur, and the fourth time that Vial has brought the Lady Tigers to Sulphur. While many on the team are used to making the trip now, its still a special experience.
“It’s pretty indescribable,” deBruler said. “Now we want to finish off the deal and win.”
Fellow senior Taylor Webre agrees.
“It’s amazing for us to go back to Sulphur for the third year,” she said. “We all have experience playing there and we aren’t going to be as nervous this time around.”
The atmosphere at Sulphur’s Frasch Park is enough to startle even the veterans, but Vial said his team will look past all the hoopla.
“It’s a high school players dream and it’s like your playing in a cage because everywhere you look there are people watching,” he said. “It’s an exciting atmosphere, but because we did so well last year, it’s going to take away the anxiety for the girls.
“Once they get on the field, they are going to realize that it’s a regular softball game. There is lots of hoopla surrounding it, but the teams that look past the hoopla are the ones that win.”
Hahnville will face off against STM at noon on Friday. If they win, they will play the winner of Dutchtown and top-seeded Barbe at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
The state championship will take place at 7 p.m. Saturday night.
If Hahnville keeps advancing, they could face two district teams in the state tournament. Dutchtown could be Hahnville’s semifinal opponent, while the Lady Tigers could meet either St. Amant or East Ascension in the title game.
District 6-5A sent four teams to the playoffs, and all four advanced to the field of eight in Sulphur.
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