Hahnville will head into the state softball playoffs with momentum after delivering in the clutch Tuesday, earning a 10-7 victory at home over Mandeville in the final regular season game for both teams.
The game saw a wild finish over the final three innings with Hahnville rallying from a 3-0 deficit to score five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Mandeville scored three to tie in the top of the sixth to regain the lead before HHS delivered another five runs in the bottom half to take control for good.
Rylee Villasenor’s 3-run home run shifted momentum in the fifth, giving the Tigers a 5-3 lead.
“That kind of sparked us,” said Hahnville head coach Jeremy Duplantis.
Prior to that, Emma Jackson scored on an error and Shelby Theriot hit an RBI single to plate the first two Tiger runs.
Mandeville loaded the bases in the top of the sixth. Ava Swift drew a walk to force home a run, then Savannah Windham’s two-run single made it a 6-5 Skippers lead.
But Hahnville (19-12) went to work at the plate again. Jackson led off with a line drive up the middle for a single to get the Tigers going in the bottom of the sixth. Jordyn Chaix’s RBI triple tied things up. Sophie Baudouin then doubled home two runs to give HHS the 8-6 lead. Jordan Lirette’s RBI single plated another run before Adriana Walton hit her own RBI single to push the lead to 10-6. Mandeville scratched across another run in the seventh but Hahnville shut the door from there.
“It was a playoff-like atmosphere for sure tonight,” Duplantis said. “Both teams really wanted to win and it was a battle. That definitely tested us going into the playoffs.”
Villasenor went 1-for-3 with two runs scored and three RBIs. Baudouin went 1-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and a run. Walton went 2-for-5 with an RBI. Lirette was 1-for-1 but reached in all of her plate appearances, drawing two walks. Chaix was 1-for-3 with a triple, two runs and an RBI.
London Lambert went 5.2 innings on the mound for HHS, allowing three earned runs on 11 hits and four walks. She struck out three. Claire Gassen closed the game, finishing with 1.1 innings pitched, no earned runs allowed, one hit and a walk.
Emma Jackson stole two bases, while Walton and Peytience Alexander each stole one.
Jackson’s two steals were her third and fourth over the past three games. The senior first baseman has been putting pressure on the opposition all year for an aggressive Tigers team that looks to run early and often.
“Emma’s been a leader. She’s probably our most vocal player out there,” Duplantis said. “She’s got a lot of stolen bases for us this year and is a great baserunner altogether. And, defensively, she’s made a lot of good plays for us at first base all year long.”
On Saturday, Hahnville split two games at home, defeating Marksville 10-3 and falling to D’Arbonne Woods, 7-0.
Against Marksville, Lambert hit a home run, going 2-for-3 at the plate with two RBIs, while Jackson, Chaix and Sophie Patin each doubled. Jackson and Chaix each stole two bases and Baudouin stole one.
Claire Gassen earned the win in a complete game effort, striking out 10. She allowed two earned runs on seven hits and two walks.
D’Arbonne Woods led 1-0 going into the fifth inning of their game with HHS before a four-run fifth broke things open. Kenzlie Isaac and Aubrey Zachry combined for the shutout for the Timberwolves.
For HHS Lambert struck out nine, allowing three earned runs on nine hits and four walks to take the loss.
The Tigers earned the No. 8 seed in Division I non-select and will face No. 25 Haughton in round one at 4 p.m. Thursday.
That seeding represents a notable accomplishment for a young Tigers group starting several underclassmen. Despite that inexperience entering the season, this team has been very tested over the course of its 30-plus games thus far, playing some of the best of the best statewide.
“We’ve seen everything this year,” Duplantis said.
Over the second half of the season, Villasenor has surged. The Tigers’ cleanup hitter and last season’s Offensive MVP of District 8-5A, she’s giving Hahnville major production in the middle of the order.
“She’s got seven home runs now this year and that RBI total is really going up,” Duplantis said. “She was in a slump to start the year and she battled out of it in a big way. I’m proud of her.”
