By Joe Halm, Sports Writer
Fresh off an impressive 4-0 weekend record at the West Monroe tournament, Hahnville High School baseball coach Kade Rogers said he is cautiously optimistic. With district play two weeks away, the coach said he knows there are a lot of things to work on between now and the 6-5A district home opener against Destrehan on March 26.
“We’re doing the little things we need to do to win, but we can always improve at the end of the day,” Rogers said. “We are just a scrappy ballclub. We are not great at any one thing but we’re above average in a lot of things.”
Last year, the Tigers lost a tough contest to Barbe in the second round of the state playoffs. Gone are several players from that team, but the Tigers return four players who saw playing time a year ago including seniors Ryan Waters, Buddy Trauth and John Gomez. Nursing a mild hamstring injury, Gomez should be back to full speed before district play begins.
This year’s team sports a total of 10 seniors, with six in the starting lineup, including two pitchers. While the other four will see regular playing time, even though the team has some age, that doesn’t mean they have all the experience they need on the diamond.
“We have experience as far as having a good amount of seniors playing, but from a playing stand point, we are still rough around the edges,” Rogers said.
“The kids practice hard every day. It is a lot of fun to be around them. We have a tremendous amount of character on this team. We have been through some ups and downs, and the way they have responded to any situation has been great.”
Sporting a 7-3 overall record before Tuesday’s game against Holy Cross, Rogers said he has seen improvement in a line-up nearly set for district play.
In the outfield, senior Blaise Dempster patrols left while senior Brandon Young is in center, and junior Ryne Robert plays right. Around the horn, the Tigers have junior Jared Harrell at third, junior Dillon Boudreaux at shortstop, senior Seppe Crovetto at second and senior Ryan Waters at first. Senior Buddy Trauth is behind the plate.
While the field assignments are set, the pitching rotation has yet to be decided. The Tigers have five pitchers – Waters, senior Justin Zoglio, senior Jordan Unger, sophomore Adam Dufrene and junior Britten Lanaux – competing for three starting spots.
“It is a great problem to have,” Rogers said about his team’s depth on the mound. “It helps to know that if one guy is having an off day, we can go to the next guy. It is exciting when a kid knows that he can go to the next guy and everything is going to be okay.”
As for 6-5A district play, Rogers said this year’s six-team district, that includes Destrehan, Dutchtown, East Ascension, East St John and St. Amant, will provide some playoff-type games from day one.
“We are looking to get better through district and be good at the right time. It is always the goal to win it all, but you have got to win the battles before you can win the war,” he said.
“We beat up on each other so much that it is not a matter of who is good and who is not good. It is a matter of who is good on that day. Everyone in the district has a great baseball team. Pitching and defense win championships. Offense sells the tickets.”
The mantra held true in West Monroe as Hahnville defeated Baton Rouge Catholic 5-4, West Ouachita 2-1, DeRidder 14-13 and Captain Sherveport 5-4. The Tigers came back in the final innings to win three of the four contests.
“We are not the most experienced team. We are not the team that is going to hit 10 or 12 home runs a game. We are going to try to keep ourselves in the ballgame and eventually come back and win at the end,” he said, adding the key to last weekend’s success was a better focus at the plate and in the field.
“It has been exciting to see them grow. They are just hungry for more. Baseball is a funny game. If we come out and try our best, you never what can happen.”
The Tigers will travel to their third straight tournament this weekend in Denham Springs before playing at Mandeville Tuesday.
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