Panthers ride Joubert’s perfection to victory

It’s something that does not happen very often in professional or college baseball, much less in high school diamond play. But, Pine Prairie’s J.T. Joubert accomplished a feat that all pitcher’s dream about: a perfect game. Joubert did not allow a runner on base in seven innings, as the Panthers defeated the Port Barre Red Devils 2-0 in a district 5-3A contest on Sunday in Port Barre.
With the win the Panthers move to 17-8 on the year and 7-3 in district, collecting the district runner-up spot.
When asked about his possible once in a lifetime performance, Joubert was very humble in his explanation of the extraordinary achievement accomplished on Sunday. “I thanked my teammates after the game for coming up with some huge defensive plays,” declared a thrilled Joubert. “They saved me a number of times in the game. I wanted them to know that I trusted them, just as much as they trusted me. I knew if I made a mistake, they were behind me.”
Joubert did not really comprehend what was actually going on until the end of the fourth inning. “Going into the game, I knew this was a big game for our team and that every single pitch meant something,” stated Joubert. “After getting them to go down in order in the first three innings, I was really anxious about the top of the fourth, because they had the top of the lineup coming back up to bat. When they did not get on base, I started to understand that something special could be happening. I kept telling myself not to get a big head and that getting the win for my team was way more important than anything else. I think that is what got me through the rest of the game, because my heart was really racing.”
Panther Head Coach Jake Guillory was understandably excited for his senior pitcher. “He is one of the hardest working players I have seen,” said an elated Guillory. “He was not slated to pitch a whole lot to start the season; he is actually our number one catcher. J.T. was supposed to be our middle reliever, but has turned out to be a starter. He was focused the whole game. I did not realize what was happening until the fourth inning. I went to warm up someone else and my assistant coach told me not to because I was going to jinx it. I asked him what he was talking about and he said J.T. had a perfect game going. I immediately told my other pitcher to come sit back down in the dugout. This is an amazing feat.”
The Panthers scored their two runs in the top of the third inning. Joubert doubled to lead off the inning. Matthew Rougeau walked to put runners at first and second. With no outs and the count 2-2, Sylus Carson drove a pitch into the gap between center and right field for a double, plating Joubert. The next batter, Evan Lacross struck out for the first out.
Wyatt Wainright singled in the next at bat, scoring Rougeau from third base. L. Blood popped up to the third baseman for the second out and Gaten Chaddrick grounded out to the pitcher to end the inning. That was all that Pine Prairie needed as Joubert continued his perfection for the rest of the game.
Joubert also led the way at the plate, going two for three with a run scored. Josh Fontenot and Wainright were both one for three. Carson went one for four with a run batted in.