Hahnville’s baseball season came to an end Tuesday night with a 5-3 loss to Rummel in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs. But the Tigers didn’t go down without a fight as they went toe-to-toe with the Raiders in a thrilling 10-inning game.
“We played very hard and had some opportunities in the game that we didn’t take advantage of,” Hahnville head coach David Baudry said. “We competed well – both teams did – we just couldn’t come through in the 10th inning.”
Rummel, who entered the playoffs as the No. 19 seed, took a 1-0 lead over No. 14 Hahnville in the first inning on an RBI double by Spencer Veit. However, Hahnville struck back in the bottom of the frame to tie the game.
Hahnville’s Garret Smith reached on an error before advancing to second after a hit batter. Matt Fontenot blasted a single to right field that drove in Smith and tied the game at 1-1.
Neither team could get on the board in the second frame, but Rummel took a 3-1 lead in the top of the third.
The Raiders opened the frame with back-to-back doubles by Quinn Dantagnan and Scott Wetzel that gave Rummel a 2-1 lead. Jeremy Sterling drove in another run later in the inning on a sacrifice fly.
After giving up those two runs, Hahnville ace Tyler Lamers regained his focus and kept Rummel off the board for the next six innings. With Lamers cruising from the mound, Hahnville rallied late in the sixth to tie the game.
Brock Harrell began the inning with a triple and came in to score on a single by Fontenot. With a man on second and two outs, Baudry used Logan Billingsley as a pinch-hitter. The gamble paid off as Billingsley drove a double to left field that scored courtesy runner Peyton Robert to tie the game at 3-3.
“That inning was huge and we had a couple of big at bats,” Baudry said.
Lamers and Veit battled from the mound for the next three innings, with Lamers giving up just one hit until the 10th inning. Rummel took the lead back in that frame, with Wetzel driving in one run on a double and Sterling singling in the final run of the game to give Rummel a 5-3 lead.
The Tigers threatened in the bottom of the 10th after Todd Porche drew a walk and Dylan Keller singled to right field, but Rummel relief pitcher Darren Willis forced two fly outs and ended the game with a strikeout.
“I thought it was big that we never took the lead. We tied it at 1-1 and again at 3-3, but we couldn’t take the lead later even though we had some opportunities,” Baudry said. “Tyler Lamers pitched great today, but when you give him the lead he smells the finish line.”
Fontenot led the Tigers from the plate, going 4-for-5 with two RBIs. Billingsley finished with an RBI on his sole hit. Lamers, Harrell and Keller also recorded hits for the Tigers.
Lamers was impressive from the mound in his last game for the Tigers. He struck out eight and allowed seven hits in 10 innings after throwing 135 pitches.
Despite the playoff loss, Baudry called his team’s season a success. The Tigers finished the year with a 23-11 record while going 12-2 in district play. Hahnville’s only two district losses came to rival Destrehan and their ace Kade Granier. Destrehan won both games by one run.
“We had a great season and I’m proud of the way the guys played. We were 23-11, but we lost a lot of one-run games,” Baudry said. “In district we lost two one-run games all season to a D1 pitcher in Kade Granier. Granier threw a no-hitter tonight (in Destrehan’s playoff win over Byrd), so losing to him is nothing to be ashamed of.
“Our guys have a lot to be proud of.”
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