Majors headed to World Series!

Back in September, Thomas Scully predicted this year’s Ville Platte Dixie Majors Team would go to the World Series in Lexington, South Carolina. At the time, Scully was not even the head coach of the group. He just had a feeling.
“I have always felt this was a special group,” he said after the Majors won the state title Saturday afternoon.
That special group returned eight players from a group that had gone to the DYB World Series as Super 10’s. When a great and monumental decision was made to re-adjust the age groups in Ville Platte Dixie Youth, it allowed a few other very talented players to join the World Series bunch.
The new age alignment separated VP Dixie Youth into a 9-10-year-old league and an 11-12-year-old league. This benefited the kids tremendously, because now the kids were playing against other kids of their caliber all season long, rather than just during all-star season.
That shift helped the VP All-Stars win Regional and get to state. Regionals set the tone.
“Our game against St. Mary’s, where we won 1-0, was the turning point,” Scully said. “It was the time when we realized just how special this group of players was and the chemistry between them and the coaches. We have an amazing group of coaches who work really well together.”
That turning point set the tempo when VP took on the West Ouachita All-Stars Friday and won 8-1.
VP took a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Christian Duplechin walked and Daegon Mitchell bunted for a base hit. Back-to-back walks allowed one run to score and a single from Jacques Leger pushed another run home.
West Ouachita fired back and scored a run in their part of the first inning.
Ville Platte answered back with a four-run second inning. Wesley Marcantel, Conner Bordelon and Jaden Prudhomme each reached base on a combination of a walk and a pair of singles respectively. Dru Scully kept things going with a single that drove in a run and Mitchell pushed in a run with a hit as well.
In the fourth block, the local boys struck quick for a pair of runs. Duplechin singled to begin the inning and one out later, Landon Deshotel came to the plate. He smashed the third pitch he saw out of the ball park for a two-run blast, making it an 8-1 contest.
Ville Platte had to win Saturday just once to advance to the world series. They met the West Ouachita team at 10:30 a.m. and did not waste any time getting on the board.
With one out, Duplechin blasted a solo home run to start the local boys with a lead.
In the top of the second inning, West Ouachita answered with their only run of the game. A solo home run sailed out of left field, tying the game at 1-1.
Ville Platte returned the favor in the bottom of the third inning. Bordelon reached base on four balls and one out later, Noah Soileau came to the plate. He took a pitch over the left field wall for a two-run home run, giving VP the lead back.
Ville Platte’s Aiden Lejeune managed to hold off West Ouachita for most of the game, before Duplechin came in for relief work. The offense also contributed four more runs in the fifth inning.
Lejeune reached base on an error, while Bordelon walked again. Soileau later walked and Scully reached on an error, allowing Lejeune to score. A single from Dupelchin pushed two more runs home and Scully later came in on a passed ball.
The 7-1 lead would be all the VP defense would need as they clinched the win and the trip to Lexington as Louisiana State Champions.
“Everyone of these boys have earned a right to be here and the right to make the trip,” Scully explained. “We are excited and we are so blessed as a community to have these boys.”
The DYB World Series will consist of 12 teams, 11 state champs and the host team. Louisiana (Ville Platte) will take on the State Champs of South Carolina at 5:45 p.m. on Saturday, August 9.