Saints return to state tourney

Published 11:00 am Saturday, May 7, 2022

SULPHUR — No. 2 St. Louis Catholic got a wake-up call in the sixth inning but held on to beat No. 10 De La Salle 14-8 Friday to sweep its Division II best-of-three quarterfinal and advanced to next week’s state tournament.

The defending state champion will play the winner of the No. 3 Vandebilt Catholic and No. 11 St. Michael the Archangel series in the semifinals at McNeese State’s Joe Miller Ballpark on Wednesday.

“It is good,” St. Louis head coach Matt Fontenot said. “I am humbled by it, honestly. There are a lot of coaches and a lot of really good teams that don’t get to make it, so I know there is a little bit of luck that is involved with it.

“But I can’t say enough about the kids, and the talent they have and also the work that they put in to be able to do this two years in a row. It is really special for them.”

The Saints (23-12) were cruising with a 10-2 lead before the Cavaliers (18-12) rallied for six runs in the bottom of the sixth inning on four hits and three free bases. The big strike came when Ty Poole hit a bases-clearing two-out triple to cut St. Louis’ lead to two runs.

But the Saints responded in the top of the seventh when Reid Snider and Aidan Welsh plated runs and Ryan Baron hit a two-run home run after going hitless in his previous four at-bats.

“That is the ULL signee, and he is just so electric,” Fontenot said. “He is one swing away from being able to do something really loud like that. He is just a really athletic kid. It was good to see him.

“They brought a guy in that was throwing hard. It was good to see us respond and do that to a guy that has some velocity.”

St. Louis relief pitcher Blake Evans closed the door on any potential Cavalier rally in the bottom of the seventh by striking out the side.

The Saints racked up 12 hits and 10 stolen bases for a second consecutive game. Welsh went 3-for-4 with two runs scored, an RBI and two doubles. Snider was 2-for-4 with two runs, three RBIs and a pair of doubles. James Reina and Kennedy Leggett added a pair of hits each.

KeMonni Pullard earned his third win in as many starts after holding the Cavaliers to one run on three hits in four innings with two strikeouts and two walks.