Pios cruise past Gents

CROWLEY – In a rivalry game that pitted a pair of Top 10 teams against each other, most expected a tight game.
That included Notre Dame coach Steve Soper.
“We actually had game planned for a one-run game in the sixth and seventh innings,” said Soper.
That was far from the case, however.
The Pios, ranked No. 10 in Class 3A and  No. 8 in the most recent power rankings, exploded for six runs in the fifth inning and pushed across six more runs over the final two frames to shock the host Crowley Gents, 13-2, in front of a packed house at Miller Stadium Monday evening.
The Pios improved to 14-8 on the season with the victory. The Gents fell to 17-3.
“You know, if we pitch like this and hit like we did tonight, we are definitely going to win a lot of games,” said Soper, whose team led just 1-0 entering the fifth inning. “It was great for us to come out and get the lead early. And offensively, we just had one of those nights where everything was going well for us.”
For the Gents, it was the total opposite.
The Gents mustered just two hits through the first five innings and scored single runs in only the sixth and seventh innings.
“First and foremost, I’m hoping this is a wakeup call for us,” said CHS coach Christian Doughty. “For the last seven games we have not been a good baseball team offensively. We’ve got great pitching and I thought up to now, we’ve played pretty good defense. But you cannot continue to win big ball games without offensive production.
“It’s disappointing to take one on the chin like this, but I give them (Notre Dame) credit - they did a heck of a job. I think the total number of hits for them speaks for itself.”
That it did.
The Pios banged out 15 hits off of three Crowley hurlers en route to the lopsided victory. They had just three hits entering the fifth inning.
“It’s kind of funny the way that happens sometimes,” said Soper of his squad’s six-hit outburst in the fifth frame. “We saw him (Haden Erbe) two times through the lineup and we finally got a bead on him. We were able to square up a couple fastballs and hit them where they weren’t; we were (also) able to take advantage of a couple of mistakes they made on the mound. Really, hats off to our guys offensively; they really just took hold of the game and never let it go.”
Erbe, who started the game on the mound for the Gents, gave up a leadoff walk to Brad Stoma to start the fifth inning and Nick Hanks followed with an RBI double to left field to push the Pios’ lead to 2-0.
Pete Brown then chased Erbe from the mound with an RBI single, also to left field.
The Gents elected to send Pate Broussard to the mound and he quickly surrendered a single to Dillan Gilbert and a bunt hit to Taylor Faulk that loaded the bases.
The Gents were finally able to get a force out at the plate on a grounder to third base by Jacques Thibodeaux for the first out of the frame.
The big blow, however, occurred one batter later when Sam Hoffpauir drove a fastball to the left center field gap for a three-run double. Jacob Vicknair added a two-out RBI single before the Gents were finally able to get out of the inning.
“We just continued to get behind in the count and with the caliber of hitters that they have, they are going to make you pay and they did tonight,” said Doughty.
The Pios added to the lead one inning later when Gilbert doubled in a run and Taylor Faulk plated another run on a sacrifice fly.
The Gents finally got on the board in the bottom of the sixth inning on a RBI single by Bubba Daigle.
But the Pios pushed across four more runs in the top of the seventh inning on RBI singles from Taylor Faulk and Thibodeaux, a sacrifice fly by Hoffpauir and an error.
That all but sealed the deal.
Alex Ashby had an RBI single for the Gents in the bottom of the seventh, but the damage had been done.
In all, the Gents managed six hits off Pio hurler Joe Faulk, who earned the complete-game victory. Faulk threw just 82 pitches in seven innings and struck out one.
“The biggest thing for Joe is just getting ahead and trusting his off-speed stuff,” said Soper. “He’s not really a strikeout guy, but he does a great job of letting his defense work behind him and keeping guys off balance with his off speed stuff.”
Ashby had two hits for the Gents while Broussard, Erbe, Daigle and Andre Larry each had one.
Erbe suffered the loss after surrendering four runs on five hits and four walks. He struck out four in four innings.
Broussard pitched just one inning and allowed three runs on four hits while Daigle threw the final two innings, allowing six runs on four hits and three walks.
Gilbert, the Pios’ No. 3 hitter, was an impossible out for the Gents. The senior right fielder went 4-for-4 with a double and two RBI to lead a 15-hit attack.
“You can’t say enough about the job that he did at the plate tonight,” said Soper of Gilbert, who also completed a double play to get out of an inning when he made a catch in right field and then fired a strike to third base to nail a runner attempting to tag up on the play. “He’s been a mainstay in the middle of our lineup and he really just continues to do what he has done all year. The ball probably looked like a balloon up there to him.”
Hanks added three hits, including a double, and one RBI for the Pios while Pete Brown and Taylor Faulk had two hits and one RBI each. Hoffpauir added a triple and four RBI; Thibodeaux and Vicknair each singled and drove in a run and Joe Faulk had a single.
The Gents looked to bounce back from the defeat when they took on Beau Chene in a key District 4-4A tilt yesterday, but results of that contest were not available as of press time.
The Pios, on the other hand, play host to Loyola today at 5 p.m.