The bleachers were packed on a breezy Tuesday afternoon as the Destrehan versus Hahnville softball intra-parish rivalry was fought out at Hahnville.
After taking a 4-1 lead in the first two innings, the Destrehan (17-10, 3-1) girls folded to Hahnville (23-1, 4-0) in a disastrous sixth inning where Hahnville put up four runs to take a 7-5 lead. HHS pitcher Lauren Beadle shutout DHS late to prevent a comeback.
The game got off to a quick start with three runs scored by DHS in the top of first inning off hits by Krista Robles and Anna Hall. Robles added another run off an RBI groundout in the top of the second to make it 4-0. However, Hahnville answered in the bottom of the second, scoring off a big double by Pepper Baker that sent Maeson Martindale home.
With HHS still trailing on their own field, the Lady Tigers added a run in the bottom of the fourth with a lead-off double by Martindale who was sent home on a line drive double by Megan Bush to make the score 4-2. That is when Destrehan coach Kenny Montz opted to take senior pitcher Ashley Bolin off the mound in favor of senior Abbie Hall, who finished out the game.
In the top of the fifth, the Lady Wildcats extended the lead to 5-2 after a double by Bolin down the right field line.
“We had nine hits and we must have had five or six doubles in the game. We were splitting it around. Most of the girls in the lineup got at least one hit today. We kept pressure on them for most of the game,” Montz said.
But in the bottom of the fifth, the Lady Tigers began to mount their comeback with a home run off the bat of Lauren Simar.
HHS head coach Kenneth Vial said Simar’s shot was the turnaround Hahnville was looking for, bringing the score to 5-3.
“Simar hitting a home run was a big play of the game because we had gone quiet on offense and she hit the home run and I thought it breathed life back into us,” Vial said.
In the bottom of the sixth, Hahnville brought the game home with singles by Baker, Kelly Ortego, Madison Fremen and an RBI single by Kaylyn Morales that sent in Baker to bring the score to 5-4. With the bases loaded, Hall walked in Ortego to tie the score up 5-5 and Fremen stole home on a passed ball to give HHS their first lead for the game at 6-5. Martindale brought in Morales on a bunt to give the Lady Tigers a 7-5 lead.
“Morales getting that single in the sixth inning for a scoring run was real big,” Vial said. “We had a few kids come through for us.”
Montz said HHS’s comeback was an example of a good team playing at their best.
“In that inning, a good team stepped in in Hahnville. That’s what happened. They stepped up like the No. 1 team in the state and they did what they had to,” he said.
After Amanda Mcnaughton singled on the first at bat of the top of the sixth, Hahnville sophomore pitcher Lauren Beadle closed out the game without giving up another hit.
Vial said his team fought through adversity to take the victory.
“In the end I told them you didn’t play your best, but you won. The team has to be able to overcome the game and not complain about it,” Vial said. “That’s not taking anything away from Destrehan, because they were at their best, but we didn’t pitch as well as we could have. That is high school sports.”
Montz said although he felt his team played well, it would have only taken a few more plays to go their way to secure the win.
“We really had the opportunity to score maybe four or five more runs in the game and we couldn’t get that extra big hit, that one extra big hit to really break the game open and that’s the story of the game,” Montz said.
Destrehan will have a chance to avenge their loss when they host HHS next Wednesday, April 10 at home in a non-district match-up.
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