Super 10’s, Shreveport move to Game 3

In a best of three series, it is hard for a coaching staff to prepare for game three, also known as the “if necessary” game. No coach wants that game to take place. You’d prefer to win the first two and move on. Ville Platte dominated Shreveport 21-5 in game one, which took place Friday afternoon. Saturday morning, they lost to Shreveport in a high-scoring affair 19-16. After playing for nearly three hours in the extremely high heat and humidity, game three was moved to a 5 p.m. start time. That game will be highlighted in Thursday’s sports section.
In Friday’s game, Ville Platte scored 21 runs on 12 hits, including a 3-3 performance from center fielder Landry Lafleur. The speedster hit a pair of singles and a triple in the game. He also scored all three times he went to the plate.
Ville Platte went up 4-0 in the first inning. VP came out swinging and then got a triple from Owen Smith. In the second inning, the local squadron collected 15 runs and nearly sent the entire line-up to the plate twice.
In the top of the third frame, the boys in blue and white scored a pair of insurance runs and went on to the win.
The Saturday morning game began at 10 a.m. but did not end until after 1 p.m. The game took its toll on the boys and their coaches in a variety of ways.
Shreveport took a 1-0 lead in the first inning, but VP would fire back. They scored five runs in the bottom of the first inning. Three straight walks and a single from Lafleur got the offense going. A pair of doubles from Ethan Fontenot and Owen Smith pushed more runs home and made it a 5-1 game.
Gabe Courville and Ashton Brown began the inning with walks in the second block. Both runners came home as the answer to Shreveport’s run from the top of the inning.
Up 7-2, VP was not comfortable and Shreveport showed them why. The boys from up north scored three more runs, to cut the deficit to 7-5.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, VP plated four more runs, improving to 11-5. Sam Fontenot started the inning with a walk and he scored on a double from Issac Leger. Hayden Fontenot drove in Leger with a single and Dylan Blevins kept the inning going by hitting into an error. Amarion Watson’s double brought home Blevins, giving VP 11 runs.
Shreveport fired back hard with six runs in their half of the fifth inning. That tied the game up at 11-11, with the local boys coming back to the plate.
VP answered with five runs. Aiden Brignac and Courville started things off with a fielder’s choice and a walk respectively. Issac Leger hit into an error, allowing two runs to score and Hayden Fontenot followed with a walk. One out later, Lafleur doubled home two more runs. A wild pitch helped Lafleur come home moments later.
Shreveport returned fire with an amazing showing in the top of the sixth inning. They scored eight runs with most of them coming with two outs. Seven out of the eight runs come across the plate with two outs.
Ville Platte and Shreveport were both worn out after a hard-fought pair of games. The two platoons collided for all the marbles late Saturday in a quest to punch the ticket for the Dixie Youth World Series in Lexington South Carolina.