Sacred Heart uses patience at the plate for win over Ville Platte

VILLE PLATTE –The Sacred Heart Lady Trojans proved that patience pays off, as they were walked a total of 13 times en route to a 17-2 four inning non-district win over the Ville Platte Lady Bulldogs here Monday.
Ville Platte High’s Kinderlyn Doucet, a seventh grader, battled on the hill for the Lady Bulldogs, but could not keep Sacred Heart off of the bases in taking the loss.
“Kinderlyn is very young,” said Lady Bulldog head coach Devinskie Arvie. “She goes up there game in and game out and battles her heart out, but right now she is still trying to learn how to control her pitches. She has come a long way so far this season, but still has a lot to learn.”
Sacred Heart head coach Glenn Lafleur also complimented Doucet after the game.
“For such a young pitcher, you can see she is trying to find her way on the mound,” stated Lafleur. “I will give her this, she does not quit. She gives everything she has. The sky is the limit for her.”
However, the first bite of the game came from the Lady Bulldogs.
Ville Platte opened the game, scoring a single run in the top of the first inning.
Doucet walked to lead the game off. After a strike out for the first out and a wild pitch, Doucet moved to third base on a sacrifice bunt from Whitney Ledoux.
Doucet scored on a passed ball for the game’s first run and a Ville Platte 1-0 lead.
Sacred Heart came to bat in the bottom of the first and showed how patient they could be right out of the gate.
The first four batters for the Lady Trojans walked to start the inning, tying the game at 1-1.
Senior catcher and LSU-A signee Gabbie Andrepont then hit a screaming line drive off of the wall for a stand up double, scoring three more runs and giving the Lady Trojans the 4-1 advantage.
Laura Beth Fontenot walked, putting runners at first and second with no outs. The next batter, Madison Hernandez stroked a pitch to center field for a base hit that got past the center fielder, scoring Andrepont and Fontenot, giving Sacred Heart the 6-1 lead.
Doucet coaxed two fly balls from the next two batters. Caroline Fontenot walked, but was left stranded as Logan Shipp grounded out for the third out in the inning.
Ville Platte closed the gap in the second inning picking up another run, when Josie Lartigue scored after a walk, a fielder’s choice and an error on the Lady Trojan second baseman.
That would be the extent of the scoring for Ville Platte, as Sacred Heart starting pitcher Aubrey Foret allowed only two more Lady Bulldog base runners in their final two at bats.
Sacred Heart added to their lead in the bottom of the second, plating seven more runs to take a 13-2 lead. In the inning, the Lady Trojans collected four more walks and huge double from Fontenot to secure the runs.
Sacred Heart added two more runs in the third and fourth innings respectively to earn the run-rule win.
“We came out ready to play today,” commented Lafleur. “We had two seniors that were able to come off of injuries that started the game for us. But, we were able to get some time in for some of the younger players also. Our team is getting better every week, which has been our goal all season long.”
Foret went the distance for the Lady Trojans on the mound. She gave up two runs on one hit and struck out seven.
Andrepont and Fontenot led Sacred Heart at the plate, each collecting one hit; a double for both players.
With the win, Sacred Heart moves their record to 8-4 on the season and is scheduled to take on Notre Dame today in Ville Platte for their first district contest. Game time is set for 4 p.m.
Ville Platte falls to 1-7 on the year and will play Church Point today at home in a District 5-3A contest. Game time is set for 4:30 p.m. at the Evangeline Recreational Complex.
“I am proud of our players and how they grind it out every game,” stated Arvie. “We are very young. Some of these players have never played softball before and are forced to start. They are getting better game by game. That is all I ask from them.”