Excitement follows Louisiana Majors to World Series

BY: TRACEY JAGNEAUX
Sports Editor

Winning a state championship and having a chance at a World Series title brings a tremendous amount of excitement.
But to win a World Series, excitement is not enough to carry a team through to the end. Another factor that can bring a team a long way toward accomplishing that quest is experience.
Good news for the Louisiana Major all-stars, they have both.
Team Louisiana will carry that excitement and experience with them to Lexington, South Carolina this coming weekend, as they begin their run to a World Series championship.
First game for Louisiana is scheduled for Saturday, August 8 against Arkansas. Game time will be 8 p.m. EST. (7 p.m. CST).
Two players, Noah Soileau and Daegan Mitchell, return to team Louisiana off of last year’s team that made it to the World Series in Lexington.
According to Soileau, relating last year’s experience to his teammates this year could be valuable.
“The one thing I can tell the team this year is that the other teams there will hit the ball,” said Soileau. “We are going to have to make plays. And if you are pitching and the other team hits a home run off of you, don’t get down on yourself, because it will happen.”
Mitchell agrees with Soileau on the competition.
“The teams at the World Series are going to be good,” stated Mitchell. “We are going to have to be at our best the entire tournament.”
Soileau and Mitchell are not alone in their World Series experience. Head Coach Stokie Fontenot also has tasted from the cup of success. Fontenot’s experience came not as a coach, but as a player in 1988.
“I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to play in a World Series,” commented Fontenot. “We lost to Florida in the final game by one run. The passion for me is there, I feel like I have some unfinished business.
“This team is comparable to that 1988 team,” Fontenot continued. “We hit well, the pitching staff is deep and we can run the bases. We may not be the best team over there, but this team has a lot of heart and they are going to fight to the very end.”
Experience does not have to be first hand. Jack LaHaye may not have ever been to the World Series as a participant, but having two brothers who have been there can give someone a different perspective.
“My brothers are telling me how it feels when you put on the Louisiana jersey,” said LaHaye. “I know when I can put on that jersey and walk out onto the field for the first time, it will be a great feeling.”
For assistant coach Delaney Fontenot, a chance for redemption came win the final out was made to win the state title. Fontenot was the head coach of the Minor all-stars last year that lost in the state championship series.
“When you think about going to the World Series, it kind of gives you the goose bumps,” stated Fontenot. “It is everything we strive for in Ville Platte Dixie Youth baseball. I know how it feels to be on the wrong end of losing state and the right end of winning state. It is a much better feeling when you win.”
Excitement can turn into other emotions, especially when you have been around a group of players and watched them grow up. Just ask assistant coach Dr. Chuck Monier.
“When the last out was recorded, it was relief,” stated Monier. “I have been around this group since they were eight. So to see them finish and to see them grow up this year has been unbelievable.”
Going into the World Series, the Louisiana Majors have shown they can compete in all three phases of the game. But, according to Gabe Fontenot, its the offense that drives the Louisiana train.
“Our offense, I think is our strongest area,” commented Fontenot. “We have really good bats, we can lay down bunts and our base running is pretty solid.”
So what is it that Louisiana has to do to prepare for the next phase of their season. Head Coach Stokie Fontenot has a mental note pad he will be checking off in the days leading up the World Series.
“I have made a mental note of some of the small things we can work on,” said Fontenot. “We are going to have to work on our small ball game, because we will face some very strong pitching. The mental game is going to have to be fine tuned. Making sure the focus is there will be a main priority.”
Through all of the preparations that Louisiana will go through, one fact cannot be ignored; these players are pumped to be at the World Series.
“It is an amazing feeling to be able to go to the World Series,” said Hayden Fontenot. “It is the best feeling in the world. I want to go there and have us play every game to the best of our ability. If we do that I think we can win it all.”