A young Hahnville team is beginning to stack up wins.
The Lady Tigers have won six of their past seven games following a 15-1 victory over H.L. Bourgeois to move to 3-0 in District 8-5A play.
Hahnville lost three of its first four games of the season but have since turned on the jets from there, beating Terrebonne, South Terrebonne, Thibodaux, Belle Chasse and Dutchtown in addition to the Bourgeois victory.
The Tigers are starting to find a groove at just the right time – coming off of its annual invitational tournament and with a marquee matchup slated today (March 12) as Hahnville hosts rival Destrehan at 4 p.m.
“We’re a young team with a lot of sophomores starting,” said Hahnville head softball coach Jeremy Duplantis, now in his second season guiding the program. “We’ve got a freshman (London Lambert) in the circle. We lost some tough games to some tough opponents to begin the season but we’re starting to grow up as a team – and we’ve been a lot more competitive.”
Hahnville (7-4) wasted no time against Bourgeois – though the Tigers trailed early in this one after Brylie Smith’s first inning RBI double put her team ahead 1-0.
But Hahnville rolled from there, starting with a five-run first inning highlighted by Rylee Villasenor’s two-run single.
Shelby Theriot doubled and tripled on a day she went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBIs. Addison Walton went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and London Lambert went 2-for-3 with a double. Hahnville created havoc on the bases, with Jordyn Chaix leading the way with two steals. Adriana Walton, Emma Jackson and Villasenor each stole a base as well.
Lambert had a strong day on the mound to earn the win, going the complete five-inning game and allowing one run on two hits and a walk. She struck out eight.
In a 3-2 win over Dutchtown, it was Lambert again throwing a strong complete game effort, and the Tigers needed it against a strong Griffins team at the HHS tournament Saturday. Lambert notched the win, striking out five while allowing two earned runs on five hits and one walk.
At the plate, Emma Jackson led the way by going 2-for-3 with an RBI – and did even more damage once she got on base, stealing three on the day. Lambert went 2-for-4. Villasenor stole a base and Addison Walton doubled.
Jackson’s RBI proved to be the game winner, a sacrifice fly that scored Baudouin on the final play of the game. Baudouin singled to lead off the inning and advanced to third on a Lambert single.
In Hahnville’s 6-1 win over Belle Chasse at the tournament, Lambert, Baudouin and Theriot combined for six hits. Lambert homered and went 2-for-3 with four RBIs and a run scored. Theriot went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and Baudouin was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI. Jordyn Chaix and Sophia Patin doubled. Adriana Walton, Chaix and Shelby Theriot each stole bases.
Claire Gassen put together a dominant effort on the mound, pitching six shutout innings and striking out 10 against one walk and four hits.
Overall, the Tigers went 3-1 at their tournament over the weekend, the lone loss coming in the opener Friday against Vandebilt Catholic, 3-0.
The tourney expanded this season to 13 teams, up from eight last year, and games were played on both sides of the river at the East and West Bank Bridge Parks.
In just her freshman season, Lambert has made an immediate impact. She has hit four home runs thus far at the plate and is leading the team in batting average while having a strong season on the mound.
“She’s one of the hardest working kids I’ve ever had in my coaching career. She works just as hard outside of practice as she does inside of practice,” said Duplantis. “She has a very, very bright future and she’s been a big part of our success this year.”
Baudouin, the team’s shortstop, has also asserted herself in her sophomore year. Adriana Walton and Theriot are off to strong starts, batting leadoff and second, respectively. Both are sophomores as well.
A challenge is up next in the form of Destrehan, which last season broke what was a near-decade long run of victories for the Tigers in the rivalry. Destrehan currently sits No. 4 in power rankings, with Hahnville at 12, making this a major matchup on the softball landscape beyond district and rivalry considerations.
“Coach (Craig) Perrier does a real good job with his ball club, I got to really see them play for the first time this year at our tournament … they lay the bunt down and run the bases well. Defensively, they’re pretty solid as well. So, I think it’s going to be a good matchup,” Duplantis said.
