Teurlings Catholic baseball fans were itching for the Rebels’ first postseason game to come to a close, and not just because the flies were swarming throughout the stands.
The No. 1-seeded Rebels hosted No. 17 Lake Charles College Prep in the second round of the LHSAA Select Division II playoffs, and they knew they had game one in the bag. After the Trailblazers’ pitcher threw a wild pitch, the Rebels’ pinch runner, Andrew Devalcourt, stole at home with ease to give his team a 12-2 run-rule victory.
“We got the first win, and every win is important right now,” Teurlings coach Brooks Badeaux said. “We need to take it one game at a time. I felt like we did a good job coming out and setting the tone early. I wish we finished it early, but you know, we can always improve.”
With this dominating victory over LCCP, the Rebels are now just one game away from advancing to the quarterfinals. Here are the key takeaways from their Game 1 victory:
Starting off strong
On the mound for the Rebels to start things was junior Evan Vincent, and from the first batter he faced, you could tell he was locked in. He struck out the first two batters he faced, setting a tone for what would be a long night for the Trailblazers, who struggled to get hits off of him.
“I really like my fastball; it was really working for me today,” Vincent said. “I think I was able to command all my pitches and just got it done.”
In his five innings of work, Vincent held LCCP scoreless for four innings and only allowed one hit. His swing-and-miss stuff was alive and well, keeping the Trailblazers’ lineup off balance and picking up 11 Ks along the way.
His stellar start put the Rebels in the driver’s seat defensively, while offensively, a handful of players got involved to jump out to an early lead.
He had a lot of strikeouts, and he pounded the zone early,” Badeaux said. “When you have a lot of strikeouts, you throw a lot of pitches, so I felt like he got tired there in the middle innings. But he set the tone. He set the tone by that first time through the order, for sure. And then we felt like we had some momentum.”
Finishing the job
Offensively, senior Jack Purser busted the game open for the Rebels with bases loaded at the bottom of the first. He smacked the ball deep into the outfield for a two-RBI double to score the first runs of the game. His team would go on to score at least one run every inning.
Leading their fiery offensive outing along with Purser were sophomore Kaden Chavis and seniors Brant Badeaux and Porter Stuart. Purser ended the game with two runs and a hit and got on base twice with a walk and hit by pitch.
Badeaux added two RBIs and runs while Stuart fended the night with two stolen bases, two RBIs and a run. Chavis kicked off the game with a leadoff bunt and used his speed to get around the bases for a run. He also finished with a single and two RBIs, but he’s not satisfied.
“I did alright,” Chavis said. “I used my speed, and it’s a big advantage for us and a big advantage for us to get this first win today.”
The rest of the Rebels aren’t satisfied either as they were a few runs away from shutting the Trailblazers out, but they were able to score two runs at the top of the fifth inning.
“Personally, it was kind of a disappointment to me; it felt like I let the team down a little bit,” Vincent said. “Kind of got self-centered, but hopefully in tomorrow’s game we can put them away early.”
Shannon Belt covers high school sports and the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow her high school and Cajuns coverage on Twitter: @ShannonBelt3. Got questions regarding HS/UL athletics? Send them to Shannon Belt at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Teurlings Catholic baseball snags Game 1 vs LCCP in LHSAA Playoffs
Teurlings Catholic baseball fans were itching for the Rebels’ first postseason game to come to a close, and not just because the flies were swarming throughout the stands.
The No. 1-seeded Rebels hosted No. 17 Lake Charles College Prep in the second round of the LHSAA Select Division II playoffs, and they knew they had game one in the bag. After the Trailblazers’ pitcher threw a wild pitch, the Rebels’ pinch runner, Andrew Devalcourt, stole at home with ease to give his team a 12-2 run-rule victory.
“We got the first win, and every win is important right now,” Teurlings coach Brooks Badeaux said. “We need to take it one game at a time. I felt like we did a good job coming out and setting the tone early. I wish we finished it early, but you know, we can always improve.”
With this dominating victory over LCCP, the Rebels are now just one game away from advancing to the quarterfinals. Here are the key takeaways from their Game 1 victory:
Starting off strong
On the mound for the Rebels to start things was junior Evan Vincent, and from the first batter he faced, you could tell he was locked in. He struck out the first two batters he faced, setting a tone for what would be a long night for the Trailblazers, who struggled to get hits off of him.
“I really like my fastball; it was really working for me today,” Vincent said. “I think I was able to command all my pitches and just got it done.”
In his five innings of work, Vincent held LCCP scoreless for four innings and only allowed one hit. His swing-and-miss stuff was alive and well, keeping the Trailblazers’ lineup off balance and picking up 11 Ks along the way.
His stellar start put the Rebels in the driver’s seat defensively, while offensively, a handful of players got involved to jump out to an early lead.
He had a lot of strikeouts, and he pounded the zone early,” Badeaux said. “When you have a lot of strikeouts, you throw a lot of pitches, so I felt like he got tired there in the middle innings. But he set the tone. He set the tone by that first time through the order, for sure. And then we felt like we had some momentum.”
Finishing the job
Offensively, senior Jack Purser busted the game open for the Rebels with bases loaded at the bottom of the first. He smacked the ball deep into the outfield for a two-RBI double to score the first runs of the game. His team would go on to score at least one run every inning.
Leading their fiery offensive outing along with Purser were sophomore Kaden Chavis and seniors Brant Badeaux and Porter Stuart. Purser ended the game with two runs and a hit and got on base twice with a walk and hit by pitch.
Badeaux added two RBIs and runs while Stuart fended the night with two stolen bases, two RBIs and a run. Chavis kicked off the game with a leadoff bunt and used his speed to get around the bases for a run. He also finished with a single and two RBIs, but he’s not satisfied.
“I did alright,” Chavis said. “I used my speed, and it’s a big advantage for us and a big advantage for us to get this first win today.”
The rest of the Rebels aren’t satisfied either as they were a few runs away from shutting the Trailblazers out, but they were able to score two runs at the top of the fifth inning.
“Personally, it was kind of a disappointment to me; it felt like I let the team down a little bit,” Vincent said. “Kind of got self-centered, but hopefully in tomorrow’s game we can put them away early.”
Shannon Belt covers high school sports and the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow her high school and Cajuns coverage on Twitter: @ShannonBelt3. Got questions regarding HS/UL athletics? Send them to Shannon Belt at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Teurlings Catholic baseball snags Game 1 vs LCCP in LHSAA Playoffs
