It was an emotional scene at Destrehan Wednesday, moments after the conclusion of the sixth-seeded Ladycats second round battle with No. 11 Barbe.
The Wildcats’ season was over.
Barbe scored two runs in the top of the ninth inning that proved the deciding margin as it advanced to the state quarterfinals with a 7-5 victory at No. 6 seeded Destrehan. The 11th seeded Buccaneers will face No. 3 West Monroe on Saturday with a semifinal berth on the line.
Bailey Sonnier was the late-game hero for Barbe (26-9), providing the game-winning two-run single in the final inning.
Destrehan (22-7) had momentum late in this one. The Wildcats scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth, including what was a go-ahead run when DHS’ Chloe Burford scored on a play teammate Lailah Nelson got into an intentional rundown between second and third.
“It’s just tough because these girls work so hard,” said Destrehan head softball coach Craig Perrier. “We’ve always said, if we have an out left, we can pull together. I thought we had it … give credit to Barbe, they kept putting pressure on us … I really thought we were going to get it going into the top of the seventh. (Barbe) fought back, and you’ve got to give credit to them.”
Said Barbe head coach Grant Anderson, “Our mentality is it’s never over until it’s over. We’re gonna fight and compete tooth and nail until the last out. We did some little things offensively that ended up winning us the game … passing the bat to the next girl and having confidence that they’ll get the job done.”
For Destrehan, Burford went 3-for-3 with a home run, two stolen bases, two runs scored and two RBIs. Jolie Lozano was 1-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. Ava Breazeale went 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
Barbe was led offensively by Sydney Olivier, who produced a monster game when her team most needed it. She hit two home runs on a day she went 2-for-2 with three RBIs. She walked twice. Reese Jenkins and Marleigh Joubert each got two hits, including a Joubert double. Josie Tilton hit a solo home run.
Both pitchers battled into extra innings against respective tough offensive lineups. Tilton got the win, going nine innings and striking out seven, allowing three earned runs on 11 hits and three walks. For DHS, Lozano went nine innings, allowing six earned runs on nine hits and two walks while striking out four in a loss.
Barbe took an immediate 3-0 lead via a power surge at the top of the order. Tilton homered to lead off the game, then Olivier socked a two-run homer after Baleigh Scott reached by error.
Another Olivier home run, this one a solo shot, made it 4-0 in the top of the third inning.
“When she connects, it usually flies pretty far,” said Anderson of Olivier.
Destrehan, meanwhile, was getting baserunners on against Tilton, but the latter and the Bucs defense were able to get out of trouble each time. The Wildcats got runners in scoring position with less than two outs in each of the first three innings but came away scoreless.
That changed in the fourth inning when Burford blasted a two-run shot to center to cut the lead in half, 4-2.
But a key moment that would loom large later on came earlier in the inning when Karsen Trosclair was called out for leaving first base early on what first looked like a successful steal attempt just before Burford’s swing – preventing it from being a 3-run shot.
“She works her tail off,” Perrier said of Burford. “We had an awesome gameplan going in and the girls executed. (Tilton) struck out St. Amant 15 times, and we were able to get 11 hits. That was a big one.”
A Barbe mistake got DHS going in the bottom of the sixth when a Breazeale fly ball dropped in after Bucs fielders collided with one another. Singles by Lillian St. John and Burford loaded the bases for Lozano, who came through with a two-run double to tie the game.
With two outs, Destrehan called for a bit of trickery when Nelson appeared to get caught between bases; she was able to get to base safely under the tag, and as that happened Burford got home to push DHS ahead 5-4.
“We’d practiced it off and on all year, and what better time to use it?” said Perrier. “In the playoffs, you’ve got to take chances and have a little luck, and it worked out for us. We just couldn’t hold on.”
Jenkins led off the bottom of the seventh with a single. Then a sharp ground ball hit by Mylee DuBois took a high bounce into left field. Joubert bunted the runners over before Nora Edwards lifted a fly ball to right to bring home the tying run.
Tilton pitched a scoreless bottom half, then the teams traded scoreless frames in the 8th.
In the ninth, Jenkins again led off with a single. Joubert doubled to put runners at second and third with one out. Lozano struck out Edwards, but Sonnier brought both runners home with her two-out single.
Morrow got on in the bottom half for Destrehan with one out, but Tilton got consecutive ground outs from there to clinch the win.
Wednesday represented the second meeting of the season between Barbe and Destrehan, and the second time the Buccaneers rallied late to earn a win. The first meeting saw Barbe score six runs in the seventh inning to capture a 11-9 win on March 21.
It was a painful loss for Destrehan, who entered the postseason with a first round bye and off of the best regular season in team history. DHS won District 8-5A for the second consecutive season and beat several of the state’s elite teams, including earning the first win over a previously unbeaten Vandebilt Catholic team just over a week before the start of the playoffs.
“These girls had a heck of a season. I hate that it had to end like this. They battled all year … we never had a bad practice. I can’t say that about any other team I’ve ever coached. They came out every day, ready to work, ready to play, wanting to get better each and every day. It just didn’t fall in our favor today,” Perrier said.
