Hahnville found itself in a 3-0 hole as Destrehan jumped out ahead in the first inning of the annual cross-parish rivalry matchup between the teams.
But an explosive Tigers lineup locked in quickly, scoring runs in all five innings of play to surge past the Wildcats and to an eventual 15-5 victory by the 10-run rule, representing Hahnville’s third straight win.
The District 7-5A matchup took place through some steady light rain. The conditions weren’t optimal, but the weather didn’t appear to dull the enthusiasm in either dugout for the always highly anticipated matchup – nor did it keep fans away, as this matchup was strongly attended as usual.
“We could have laid down and given into the conditions, but we regrouped and did what we needed to,” said Hahnville head softball coach Todd Schulz, in his third season leading the program. “This team can swing the bat and we went out and hit how we needed to. We’re always going to play our best against Destrehan … there’s always a lot of excitement leading into this matchup.”
Jordyn Chaix and Adeline Bertrand each registered three hits, three runs and two RBIs to lead the Hahnville (15-11, 4-0) offense. Amberly Dempster went 3-for-3 with three runs and an RBI. Jenna Cancienne drove in three RBIs while Emma Jackson and Kloe White each drove two. Bertrand, Cancienne and Chaix each homered in the game.
Bertrand said that for the Lady Tigers, losing was not considered an option.
“We all had that refuse to lose mentality,” Bertrand said. “We all wanted to win very badly and we were willing to work hard to make that happen.”
White struck out seven, earning the victory in a complete game effort. She allowed three earned runs on two hits.
For Destrehan (17-6, 2-1), Rylie Staton drove in two RBIs and Jolie Lozano drove in another. Lozano took the loss on the mound.
Destrehan was in business early after Chloe Burford drew a leadoff walk as the game’s first batter. Makayla Thomas hit a ground ball and Burford scored on an error to put DHS up 1-0. Two more runs scored in the inning from there – one on an error after Thomas stole third base then advanced home, then another on a Staton single.
Hahnville wasted no time to respond. Chaix blasted a home run to lead things off for Hahnville, quickly making it 3-1. Dempster drew a walk, then with one out, Cancienne ripped a two-run homer to tie things up.
White struck out the side in order in the second inning, then Hahnville took the lead in the bottom of the 2nd. Chaix’s RBI single made it 4-3 before a Bertrand two-run homer to left field pushed it to a 6-3 Tigers lead.
From there, Hahnville never looked back, though Destrehan wasn’t giving up without a fight. Staton’s sacrifice fly in the top of the third scored Thomas to make it 6-4. But Hahnville got the run back when Brazzi Jacob scored after stealing third, then reaching home on a passed ball. Hahnville added two more in the bottom of the fourth on RBIs by Dempster and Jacob, making it 9-4.
HHS finished things in the fifth, the final blow a two-RBI single that pushed HHS ahead by the 15-5 final margin, triggering the 10-run rule.
“We can all swing the bat,” Bertrand said. “No matter where you bat in this lineup … we can move it around, and the results would be the same. All of us have a good approach and work the count, and that helped us a lot today.”
This battle was especially anticipated around the community, as both teams entered with a strong record and wins against state contenders. After a rebuilding season, Destrehan surged out the gate under second year head coach Craig Perrier and a win over the Tigers would have added some rocket fuel to the team’s momentum.
Hahnville, of course, was driven to prevent that from happening. With the victory, HHS snapped a five-game Destrehan win streak and stayed unbeaten in District 7-5A.
