Masterful Massey blanks LaSalle, Hornets reach championship game

Published 1:30 pm Saturday, May 15, 2021

Warren Arceneaux

SULPHUR — Grand Lake picked up where it left off Tuesday, dominating the conclusion of its postponed Class 1A semifinal en route to a 6-0 win over LaSalle.

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The Hornets (22-2) will face No. 1 Oak Grove in the championship game at 2 p.m. today. Oak Grove beat No. 12 Slaughter Community 16-1 in the other semifinal.

The semifinal was suspended Tuesday night with Grand Lake up 2-0 in the bottom of the third inning when thunderstorms arrived in the area.

The delay didn’t bother Hornets pitcher Kade Massey, who pitched a two-hit shutout, striking out 12.

“I did a lot of cryotherapy and tried my best to recover,” Massey said of the two-day break. “The main thing is I was throwing strikes, mostly fastballs, going with the offspeed if I had to, but I didn’t need it much.”

LaSalle (13-12) struggled with mistakes all game long, walking six batters, hitting six more and committing three errors. The six Hornets runs came on a balk, two errors, two hit batsmen with the bases loaded and two walks with the bases loaded.

“We’re not that team that is going to bang the ball all over the yard,” Grand Lake head coach Tyler Alton said. “We like to bunt and run, fake run, steal, put a lot of pressure on the defense.”

Grand Lake manufactured a run in the first with two outs. Eli Fountain walked, stole second, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on a balk.

The Hornets added a second run in the third inning when Connor Guillote was hit by a pitch to start the inning. He stole second base and advanced to third on a Massey single. He scored when a LaSalle outfielder overran the ball, resulting in Hornets baserunner Fountain being caught in a rundown between second and third. Fountain stretched the rundown long enough to allow Guillote to race home without a throw.

The game was delayed due to a nearby lightning strike immediately after Guillote scored. The Hornets had Massey on first with two outs in the inning.

Massey overcame a slow start on the pitcher’s mound. He hit a batter and walked another in the top of the first inning, but escaped unharmed with two grounders and a pickoff.

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Grand Lake’s Kade Massey pitches a shutout against LaSalle in a Class 1A semifinal game at the state baseball tournament Friday at McMurry Park in Sulphur.

Rick Hickman / American Press””

Grand Lake’s Garrett Walker slides in with the run as the LaSalle catcher awaits the throw from the field during a Class 1A semifinal game at the state baseball tournament Friday at McMurry Park in Sulphur. The Hornets advanced to today’s championship game with a 6-0 victory.

Rick Hickman / American Press