ND's Robichaux headlines All-Acadia Parish baseball team

CROWLEY – Expectations were high for the 2011 Notre Dame baseball team.

And rightfully so.

The Pioneers were the defending Class AAA champions and they returned the bulk of that title team.

Although they didn’t repeat as champions, the Pios, who were ousted in the quarterfinals by eventual state champion Livonia, posted an overall mark of 32-3. That record was not only the best in the state in all classifications, it set a school record for most victories in a season.

For their efforts, the Pios landed eight spots on the 2011 All-Acadia Parish team that was released today, including the top two honors - Most Valuable Player Austin Robichaux and Coach of the Year Timmy Robichaux.

Austin Robichaux, who was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 2011 MLB Amatuer Draft last month, played a huge role in the Pio’s success.

A pitcher/shortstop, he went 10-1 on the season with one save and a 0.37 earned run average. He gave up just 28 hits while striking out 98 and walking 13 in 75 innings.

Robichaux, a UL-Lafayette signee, also produced offensively. He finished his senior campaign with a team-high batting average of .419 along with a slugging percentage of .675. He also had 11 doubles, five triples, three home runs and 48 runs driven in.

Coach Timmy Robichaux guided his team to the No. 1 seed in the Class AAA playoffs. His team lost just three games all season long, two of which were to eventual state champions St. Louis in Class AAAA and Livonia in Class AAA.

Joining Austin Robichaux on the All-Parish pitching staff are Notre Dame’s Mitch Corzine and Northside Christian’s duo of Pierce Rivera and Joseph Trahan.

Corzine compiled a 9-0 record on the season and posted an ERA of 1.53. The Nicholls signee struck out 46 batters and walked just 15 in 64 innings. He also hit .355 for the Pios with two doubles, two triples and four RBI.

Rivera was also a dual threat. He finished with a 7-4 record and had an ERA of 2.33 on the mound while hitting .609 with eight doubles and three triples.

Trahan went 4-4 with a 2.91 ERA. He racked up 65 strikeouts in 42 innings. The freshman standout was also a threat offensively, hitting .633 with 17 doubles, six triples and a team-high 23 RBI.

Crowley’s High’s Brody Deshotel made the team at catcher after hitting .516 while also pulling double duty as a pitcher and logging five victories on the mound.

On the infield, Notre Dame nailed down all but one spot.

Pete Petitjean made the team at first base after hitting .329 despite missing a month with an injury.

Connor Goss is the team’s third baseman for the second straight season after hitting .391 and posting a slugging percentage of .652. He also had 12 doubles, three triples and four home runs to go along with 40 RBI.

Nick Gossen made the squad at second base. The middle infielder/pitcher hit .310 during his junior season and had five doubles, one triple, one home run and 19 RBI. He also logged a record of 5-2 on the mound with an ERA of 2.02 to go along with 33 strikeouts in 45 innings.

Crowley’s Taylor Doughty locked down the final spot on the infield at second base. The junior hit .464 for the Gents.

The Pios also landed two spots in the outfield in senior speedsters Luke Bourgeois and Ricky Stoma.

Bourgeois hit .374 from the leadoff spot and had eight doubles, three triples and 17 RBI to go along with a team-high 16 stolen bases. Stoma hit .318 with four doubles, four triples, 17 RBI and 13 stolen bases.

Crowley’s Chad Hoffpauir and Northside’s Josh Wheeler join the Notre Dame duo in the outfield.

Hoffpauir hit .333 for the Gents while Wheeler posted a .516 average to go along with 14 RBI.

Utility players include Northside’s Nick Zaunbrecher (.383, 10 doubles, 21 RBI) and Cameron Williams (.500, four doubles, four triples, 15 RBI), Iota’s Colby Istre (.444), Crowley’s Philip Artall and Church Point’s Brody Latiolais.

Those players making the honorable mention list include Notre Dame’s Paiton McBride and Brennan Corzine; Crowley’s Blake Thibodeaux and Steven Bertrand; Northside’s Bradley Ancelet, Grant Williams and Jordan Monte; Iota’s Bryant Fantroy, Ethan Navarre and Andrew Janise; Church Point’s Chance Roy, Brett Thibodeaux, T.J. Lyons and Brett Richard and Rayne’s Tyler LeJean, Andrew Abshire and Billy Marcantel.