Area stars earn honors

BY: TRACEY JAGNEAUX
Sports Editor

High school baseball and softball seasons were completed several weeks ago, but the individual accolades still pour in for some of the parish’s best diamond players. Because of their hard work and tremendous play this past season, five local players have been honored by being named all-state. In softball, Sacred Heart’s junior catcher, Gabbie Andrepont was recently named to the class 1A Louisiana Softball Coaches Association all-state first team.
In baseball, the Trojans also had four of their 2015 squad named to the Louisiana Sports Writers Association all-state team. Garnering first team honors were senior pitcher Phillip Vidrine and junior outfielder Jacob L. Lafleur. Named to the honorable mention list were senior first baseman Brandon Hudspeth and junior third baseman Keaton Tate.
Andrepont had a tremendous season behind and at the plate for the Lady Trojans, helping lead them to the quarterfinals. As a hitter, Andrepont hit .480 and had a slugging percentage of .747. She scored 21 runs, while driving in 19 runs batted in, including two home runs. Andrepont also had a fielding percentage of .968, only committing three errors all season.
When asked about her reaction to making the all-state team, Andrepont was genuinely surprised. “Honestly, I was shocked,” said Andrepont. “If it wasn’t for the coaches and the hard work we put in, this probably would not have happened.” Andrepont not only humbly gave credit to the coaching staff for her success this season, but also credited her teammates. “My teammates were always pushing me this season and gave me motivation to do as good a job as I could for them.”
Vidrine, the district 5-1A most valuable player, put up some amazing numbers on the hill this past season. Vidrine finished with a 12-2 record and an ERA of 1.20. He struck out 63 batters in 76 innings and walked only eight. Vidrine only allowed 13 earned runs in 2015.
Vidrine, a recent Louisiana College commit and all-star game participant was also very caught off guard by the nomination to the first team. “I was very surprised, to be honest,” stated Vidrine. “But it was very exciting to get that honor. It was great to have some of the guys I played with this year also make all-state because we all worked so hard all year.”
When asked about his appearance in the all-star game last week, Vidrine flashed a big smile. “That was a tremendous experience, getting to play with guys who are going on to the next level.” Vidrine only pitched one inning in the game, giving up only one run.
Lafleur had a break out year this past season. A .489 average and a .711 slugging percentage from Lafleur was a major reason for the success of the Trojans offensively this year. Lafleur collected 37 runs batted in and scored 32 times. He also belted three home runs on the season.
“Making all-state was a shock,” said Lafleur. “I didn’t really think I was going to make it. My freshman and sophomore year, I struggled a little bit but I think the coaches did a great job of getting my teammates and me prepared for this year.” One thing that Lafleur did point to that was part of his banner junior year, was the extra time spent in the cages during the transition from football to base-