End of the line

CROWLEY — An up and down season for the Sacred Heart Lady Trojans ended here Friday afternoon, as they fell to the Notre Dame Lady Pioneers 15-3 in a Class 2A regional playoff game.
Sacred Heart, the number 20 seed had the unfortunate task of having to play district foe, Notre Dame in the second round; a team that had defeated the Lady Trojans twice this season already.
With the loss Sacred Heart fell to 13-13 on the season.
Despite the disappointing end, Sacred Heart head coach Glenn Lafleur showered praise on the resilience of his team this past season.
“We were not supposed to do much this season according to the experts,” Lafleur commented. “But, I think we had a very productive year. Even though we were 13-13, we still competed in every game. And, we defeated another district opponent in the first round to get to this game. Give Notre Dame credit, they are a very good ballclub.”
Lafleur heaped tremendous praises on his senior players and his assistant coaches.
“Our seniors have been outstanding leaders the past four years,” stated Lafleur. “The leadership they have shown this season will go along way with our younger players. It has been a pleasure to coach these young ladies. Also, my assistant coaches Renee Soileau and Bill Ramirez have really done a great job of getting these girls ready to play. I appreciate their dedication.”
Notre Dame showed why they are the number seven ranked team in the state right out of the gate. After retiring the side in order in the top of the first, the Lady Pioneers went to work in the bottom of the first, scoring three runs on three hits; all of those runs came with two outs.
Sacred Heart collected their first hit of the game off of the bat of Laura Beth Fontenot, but could not capitalize and was held scoreless in the top of the second inning.
Starting Lady Trojan pitcher Baylee Veillon sent Notre Dame down in order in the bottom of the second, but could not control the Lady Pioneer bats in the bottom of the third.
After holding Sacred Heart scoreless in the top of the third, Notre Dame exploded for nine runs in the bottom of the inning on eight hits to take a 12-0 lead.
However, the Lady Trojans did not go away quietly. Sacred Heart managed to scrap across three runs in the top of the fourth on five base hits, including a double from senior catcher Gabbie Andrepont.
Notre Dame flexed their muscles once again in the bottom of the fourth; plating three more runs to bring the score to 15-3. Lady Pio starting pitcher Marcella Carson then proceeded to shut out Sacred Heart in the top of the fifth to secure the run-rule win.
Notre Dame moves on to the Fast Pitch 56 in Sulphur to be played on Friday. They will face either Riverside or Doyle in the quarterfinals.
Laura Beth Fontenot led all Lady Trojans at the plate going 2-for-2 with a run scored.