The sound of a nearby train rolling through filled the air at Destrehan as Koa Romero looked to get the final out he and his Hahnville teammates needed to clinch the District 8-5A championship, the tying runner on third and the Tigers leading 1-0.
That background noise seemed to fit the moment as Romero let loose a fastball – faster than a locomotive and straight down the tracks – and recorded his 12th strikeout of the game, the clinching out as the Tigers earned a 1-0 win, their 16th straight victory and an undefeated district record.
Romero let out a roar of excitement after securing that final out, the last out of a seven inning emotional battle between the rivals.
“It meant everything,” said Romero. “Every inning my heart’s pounding. It’s Hahnville-Destrehan. The vibes are up. Everything means that much more.”
Hahnville head coach Jared Vial said Romero is built for games like this.
“He’s the alpha,” Vial said. “He’s the guy who wants the moment. No moment’s too big for him … (Destrehan’s) a good club. We knew it was gonna be a dog fight. But having him on the mound is kind of like an ace in the hole. You know what you’re gonna get from him.”
Hahnville and Destrehan will rematch this Thursday (4 p.m. at Hahnville). That game will not count in the district standings as 8-5A plays one round of district – but that game remains key as both teams rate well in power points (HHS 7th, DHS 12th) and a victory for either could be big in terms of seeding.
And, of course, simply because it’s Hahnville and Destrehan – these games just mean more.
Beyond the rivalry itself, this was a battle between two teams that have been playing elite baseball. Like Hahnville, Destrehan (21-10, 5-1) entered on its own long winning streak, the Wildcats riding in off of eight victories in a row. To win district, one of these teams would have to end the other’s streak.
Romero finished the day with a complete game, one-hit, 12 strikeout shutout performance. He walked four.
It was nearly even that much more memorable of a day for him – he didn’t allow his first hit of the game until the seventh inning, when Derek Lucas lined one to center for a single.
“I was aware (of the potential no-hitter),” Romero said. “But we won the game, so it doesn’t really matter.”
And it was Lucas who set the stage for some late drama from there, He stole second and third base with two outs and represented the tying run. Romero walked Cameron Hollis, bringing up Brady Carter with a chance to tie or win the game – and once Hollis stole second, the Wildcats were that much closer to one swing winning it in walk off fashion.
But from there, Romero locked in. With the count 2-1 he fired two fastballs and recorded the strikeout to end the game.
A subplot of that endgame scenario was that Romero was up against his pitch limit for the day. Vial let him know that Carter would be the final batter he would face.
The lone run of the game came in the top of the fifth inning. Eli Landry walked with one out, and Kaleb Guarisco singled to put runners on second and third for Hahnville (26-6, 6-0) after the throw. With Koa Romero t the plate and two on, Landry scored from third on a Destrehan error to push HHS ahead 1-0, all Romero and the Hahnville defense would need.
Bennett Naquin set the tone for that defense early on. His leaping catch at the wall of a Chase Marcotte drive ended the first inning and brought a big cheer from the crowd.
Destrehan’s own run prevention was quite strong on this day too. Hahnville entered the game having scored 10 runs or more nine times over the course of its winning streak. Destrehan’s Josh Muller went five innings of one-run ball, allowing four hits and four walks with two strikeouts. Marcotte was likewise effective in relief, going two scoreless innings.
“I thought Josh was good. His struggles usually happen early in the game. We knew we had to get him settled … he got into a rhythm and we knew we were OK. We needed to find a way to scratch across some runs, but he held it down,” said Destrehan head coach Chris Mire. “His pitch count got up over the first couple of innings, they did a good job of making him work, but (Marcotte) was ready to go, came in and did his job. We had some tense spots late and Marc’s done what he’s done all year and made pitches when he needed to, made defensive plays behind him when we needed to and gave ourselves a chance.”
Mire said the Wildcats knew nothing would come easily against Romero.
“We talked about it yesterday … these games are what this time of year is all about. We knew we were facing a good guy on the mound. We wanted to give ourselves a chance to win and I think we did that. Tip of the cap to Koa. He rises up in big spots for his team,” said Mire.
“We challenged our guys to win two of the last three the rest of the way. If we can win two out of three, we’re moving on,” said Mire, noting the best of three series format in the state playoffs. “We won our last one before today, and if we win Thursday that’ll be two of three. We’ll flush today and be ready to respond Thursday.”
And one can expect Thursday to be no less intense. Though Tuesday had the dual winning streaks and the district championship on the line, Vial said at the end of the day when Hahnville and Destrehan play, the stakes are always high.
“No,” Vial said on whether Tuesday’s game felt bigger than usual in the rivalry, “because no matter what, if we have a losing record or they have a losing record, this game’s different. Just being from the parish, and these guys have been playing with and against those guys since they were eight years old. They know each other. They’re gonna text each other after the game … so, (anything extra) doesn’t matter. The game is the game.”
