Trojans stomp Rams, move on

In Sacred Heart’s first round game of the Class 1A playoffs, they stomped the Rams of West St. John 14-1. The win moves the Trojans into the second round, where they will hit the road. The ninth-seeded Trojans will head north to meet the Dragons of Mangham High School. The eighth-seeded Dragons beat the Bears of Block 5-0 in their first round game. Sacred Heart and Mangham will tangle Tuesday at 5 p.m.
The Trojans fell behind early 1-0 to the Rams. WSJ got back-to-back singles to start off the game. A wild pitch moved runners closer to home and a fielder’s choice put the Rams up 1-0.
The Trojans did not score in their half of the first inning and the Rams would not score in their half of the second frame. However, that is when the wheels fell off for WSJ and the SHHS boys took advantage of every break they could get.
Ellis Parrott started the offensive surge with a single and he scored on a double from Jacob Hudspeth. Caleb Soileau struck out but managed to get to first base when the catcher dropped the ball and moved the runners around the bases. Clutch hitter Garrett Fontenot slapped a single to score one run and that brought up the top of the line-up. Evan Mire walked and a wild pitch moved runners into scoring position. Three consecutive wild pitches allowed two more runs to come home and move SHHS up 4-1. Keaton Tate and Wesley Fontenot walked on four balls to keep the rally going for the Trojans. Moments later, Andy Lafleur roped a single, scoring two more runs. Parrott made his second trip to the plate later in the inning. A double from the SHHS shortstop moved one more run home.
Sacred Heart was up 7-1 going into the third block. That was all the momentum hurler Philip Vidrine needed. He worked his magic on the hill, getting the Rams’ hitters to ground out and pop out over and over again. While he didn’t record a big number of strikeouts, he did hit his spots and gave the defense a chance to work behind him.
In the fourth inning, Mire made an ESPN type catch to stop a WSJ scoring threat. That catch sparked another rally for the Trojans. Tate singled to begin the bottom of the fourth inning and then he stole second base easily. Wesley Fontenot singled Tate home and Lafleur hit perfectly into a hit and run play. That execution moved runners to second and third base. Parrott followed with a walk. The bases were loaded for Hudspeth. The next batters, Hudspeth and Soileau, were each hit by a pitch. Jacob Lafleur came in the game to run for Hudspeth and Ben Bergeron came in the game to run for Soileau. The two-hit batsmen made it a 10-1 score. Garrett Manuel singled home two more runs to make it a 12-1 contest. The Trojans scored two more runs before the inning would close.
Josh LaHaye came into the game to get in the save in the top of the fifth inning. LaHaye forced a three-up and three-down situation.
Sacred Heart and Mangham are very similar and play a similar schedule. Trojan fans can expect a very competitive game Tuesday afternoon.
Mangham has played teams like Opelousas Catholic and won 6-4 and split with St. Fredericks. They have a pair of losses to Ouachita Christian by scores of 5-1 and 10-0. They also fell to St. John 7-1 and Cedar Creek 10-0. The Dragons are 19-14 on the year, while the Trojans are 20-8.