LHSAA STATE BASEBALL: Eagles cruise into 2A semifinals, Elizabeth after first Class B title
Warren Arceneaux
Rosepine will be looking to make some history, while Doyle and Loreauville will be hoping to repeat when the Class 2A semifinals are held Wednesday at the state tournament in Sulphur.
The No. 2 Eagles (27-5) will play No. 3 Mangham (24-5) in one semi while No. 1 Doyle (27-8) and No. 5 Loreauville (21-9), each a recent finalist, meet in the other.
Rosepine has cruised to Sulphur, outscoring opponents 59-11 in five playoff games, all wins. The Eagles are making their second trip to the semifinals, the other coming in 2017, when they lost to Lakeside.
Catcher Ethan Frey, a LSU commitment, leads the Eagles. He went 4-for-7 in the quarterfinal series win over Fisher, scoring three runs and driving in another. Pitcher Casey Tilley threw a two-hit shutout with 9 strikeouts in Game 1.
Braden Trull was the Game 2 winner. The Eagles have won seven straight overall and have 14 wins in their past 16 games.
Mangham dropped Game 1 to Springfield last week but bounced back by scoring a total of 21 runs to win Games 2 and 3.
The Game 1 loss snapped a 14-game Dragons winning streak.
Doyle finished as state runner-up in 2019, losing to Kinder in the title game. Loreauville won the 2018 title and was a semifinalist in 2019. The Tigers, just as in 2018, reached Sulphur by winning a quarterfinal round series at DeQuincy.
Loreauville won a pair of must-win games Saturday after dropping Game 1.
Doyle has won all five playoff games by shutout, scoring 40 runs of their own in the process.
In Class B, Elizabeth is in the field for the first time after being a mainstay in Class C, including state titles in 2015 and 2017. The No. 3 Bulldogs will play No. 2 Anacoco (16-13) in the semifinals Tuesday. No. 1 Choudrant (30-3) will play No. 20 Monterey (11-12) in the other semi.
Elizabeth (32-4) has allowed one run in playoff wins over Singer and Quitman. Anacoco has done the same in beating Lacassine and Weston, and have also scored 26 runs. The Indians are led by Tulane signee Landry Alligood, an infielder/pitcher.
Monterey has allowed three runs in its three playoff wins, the longest winning streak the team has had all year. Conversely, Choudrant enters on a 27-game winning streak after starting the season 3-3 and have held 11 straight opponents to one or no runs.
Rosepine’s Jake Smith tags Sam Houston’s Carson Devillier for an out at Sam Houston High School in Moss Bluff March 9. Rosepine will take on Mangham Wednesday in the Class 2A semfinals at McMurry Park in Sulphur.