VP Majors punch ticket for state

When Ville Platte got to the Wall Pontiff Playground in Metairie, they did not waste much time in letting the locals know they were there for business and not play. The VP Majors met the competition head on and that did not let up.
Ville Platte trounced the Pontiff All-Stars in game one by a score of 12-0. They put up four runs in the first inning. Dru Scully started things off with a walk and Christian Duplechin followed with a single. A triple from Daegon Mitchell pushed both runners home. Moments later, Landon Deshotel drove in Mitchell with a single. Deshotel later scored on a double from Cade Foret.
VP plated eight runs in the third block. The offensive surge was highlighted by a string of singles from up and down the line-up. Noah Soileau started things off with a walk ands Scully singled behind him. Mitchell, Deshotel, Lucas Vallet, and Aiden Lejeune kept the inning rolling.
Scully and Mitchell were each 2-2 in the contest.
Ville Platte and Gonzales combined for 25 runs in their second round match-up. VP’s 15-10 win moved them into the quarter-finals, but not before they had to battle hard to get the win.
Scully got things going with a double and he later came home on a double from Deshotel. VP added two more runs when Aiden LeJeune and Cade Foret reached base on singles. Both runners came home on a sacrifice bunts later in the inning.
Gonzales put up a pair of runs in their half of the second inning and VP responded with three runs in the third block. Jade Prudhomme and Noah Soileau started the inning off. Prudhomme singled and Soileau walked, bringing up the top of the line-up. Scully walked to load the bases and Duplechin hammered a single to center field, bringing in two runs.
Gonzales continued to battle back and force the VP offense to respond. They scored two runs in the fifth inning, but got a big boost in the sixth frame. Duplechin hammered a shot over the outfield wall for a momentum jolting home run. The six-run explosion gave all they needed to move on to the next contest against St. Mary’s.
Ville Platte and St. Mary’s locked up in a defensive duel in the quarter-finals. Ville Platte took a narrow 1-0 win. Landon Deshotels and Christian Duplechin combined for the win on the mound.
Ville Platte’s lone run came in the second inning. Conner Bordelon drove in Cade Foret to make it a 1-0 game. That would be the only offense VP would need to advance to the semi-finals and meet Minden.
Ville Platte slammed Minden 12-2 in route to the finals on Wednesday. The local boys scored nine runs in the first two at bats.
Duplechin hit a out solo home run and Mitchell followed with a triple. Singles from Jacques Leger, Lucas Vallet and Prudhomme kept the inning rolling along.
In the second inning, doubles from Duplechin, and Scully continued to demonstrate the offensive muscle of VP. The local boys went up 9-0 before Minden even knew what hit them.
Later in the game, Duplechin and Vallet would double home more runs as VP moved on the championship game Wedensday.
Ville Platte took on St. Mary’s for the regional title. The St. Mary’s All-Starts had to win twice, while VP needed just one win to punch the ticket for state.
St. Mary’s came out strong and scored five runs in the top of the second inning. While things looked bleak for VP, they did not give up.
Instead, they scored two runs in the second inning to get right back in the ball game. Landon Deshotel and Lucas Vallet hit back to back to doubles to make it a 5-1 contest. Moments later, Aiden Lejeune singled home Deshotel and it was a brand new game.
In the third inning, Conner Bordelon led off the inning by reaching on an error and Noah Soileau followed with a single. Dru Scully singled home Bordelon, bringing Christian Duplechin to the plate. He ripped a shot up the middle brining in another run and making it a 5-4 game with a runner on third. VP Head Coach Thomas Scully and his staff called a trick running pay, that allowed Scully to come home and tie the game at 5-5. Vallet would come back to the plate and slam another big hit. This time, two runs would score and VP went up 7-5.
When it was all said and done VP won 8-5 and advances to Alexandria to play the winner of DeQuincy and Ouachita. The first game of the best of three series starts Friday at 6 p.m. The Saturday game will take place at 10:30 a.m.