Hahnville and Mount Carmel have waged some well-played, back and forth battles over the years, with a common tie between the two state powerhouses: before arriving at Hahnville, former HHS head coach Jerry Nugent guided the Cubs’ program.
Nugent’s departure from coaching after the 2021 season has done nothing to dampen the series, if Tuesday’s battle in Boutte was any indication. The Tigers edged past the Cubs, 3-2, holding off a late innings rally to secure the latest in a surge of Hahnville victories.
The win was Hahnville’s fourth in a row, and the Tigers are now 11-2 in their last 13 games.
“It’s always a fun game to play Mount Carmel,” said Hahnville head coach Todd Schulz, who was Nugent’s assistant prior to taking the helm of the program prior to this season. “These teams have a rich tradition of playing each other, with Nuge when he was here … we’ve got a good relationship going. I told the girls this one wasn’t going to be easy for us. This team kind of finds a way to win, though. I call it ‘HWA,’ how to win awareness. And we found a way to come in and get it done.”
Hahnville pushed across its first run of the game in the first inning after Hahnville got two on base with one out. Laney Waguespack drove in Katie Ortego on a sacrifice groundball.
In the second inning, Hahnville extended its lead to 2-0, Kate Bruce singling home Lauren Crochet.
Bruce came through again in the fourth, laying down a bunt that scored Avery Edgar – Bruce would reach base safely on an error, though MCA pitcher Chloe Krey pitched out of the inning free from more damage.
That was something of a nuisance for the Tigers, even with the lead at the time – the Tigers, who collected 10 hits on the day, had several chances to push more runs across, but Mt. Carmel kept them at bay.
“We left a lot out there, and it always hurts,” Schulz said. “When you play good teams like Mount Carmel, you can’t leave runners in scoring position because it comes back to bite you. And it almost came back to bite us today. We had runners on third with no outs a couple of times and couldn’t get them across.”
Hahnville (19-10) was bearing down on a victory, but Carley Koch’s RBI double in the top of the sixth inning cut the Tigers’ lead to 3-1. Linda Hollander brought home another run on a ground ball and reached first on an error – Waguespack, like Krey earlier, retired the next batter to stop the scoring there.
Mount Carmel’s last chance came in the bottom of the seventh: Waguespack slammed the door, retiring the Cubs in order.
Waguespack earned the win for Hahnville on the mound, going all seven innings and allowing two runs, one earned, on five hits. She struck out five and walked one.
Adeline Bertrand and Edgar each doubled for Hahnville. Bertrand finished 2-for-4 and Edgar 1-for-3 with a run scored.
Sara Roussel led the Tigers at the plate, going a perfect 4-for-4 in her at-bats. The Tigers leadoff hitter added another strong game to what’s been a very productive season.
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