Pios slip past Kinder; Gents, Bulldogs not as fortunate

CROWLEY - It was a case of ‘good news, bad news’ for Acadia Parish baseball teams in opening games of their best-of-three playoff series around the state.
The good news was in Crowley, where  the Notre Dame Pios broke a 5-5 tie in the bottom of the seventh inning to beat Kinder, 6-5, and take a 1-0 lead into their Class 2A regional series.
The bad news was in Benton and Thibodaux where the Crowley Gents and Iota Bulldogs weren’t as fortunate.
In Benton, the Gents lost, 9-2, in a weather-shortened Game 1 of their Class 4A regional with Benton, while in Thibodaux, the Bulldogs saw a 3-1 lead vanish on a bases-clearing double in the bottom of the seventh inning and fell to the E.D. White Cardinals, 4-3, in their Class 3A opener.
All three series were to resume Saturday, weather permitting, the Pios needing one victory to advance to the quarterfinal round and the Gents and Bulldogs each needing two wins to advance.
Results of all three series will be recapped in Tuesday’s Post-Signal.
In Crowley on Friday, the Pios  squandered a two-run lead in the top of the seventh inning, but rallied to load the bases in the bottom of the inning to set up a game-winning sacrifice fly by John Hoffpauir.
Hoffpauir, a sophomore, was just what the Pios needed on a night full of wild twists and turns that at times had coaches, fans and players in a frenzy.
Usually the No. 3 pitcher on the Pios staff, Hoffpauir was pressed into a starting role on the mound because ace Joe Faulk was still in need of rest after throwing between 80-90 pitches in Notre Dame’s first-round victory over Mangham just three days earlier.
“To do what he (Hoffpauir) did tonight was outstanding,” said Pios coach Steve Soper, who watched his young pitcher scatter eight hits, walk just two and strike out one. “To pitch like he did and come up with the big play there at the end like he did was unreal.”
   Soper said the game should have never come down to the final inning, despite the fact that his team was outhit by the Yellow Jackets 8-3.
“All five of Kinder’s runs were unearned,” he said, noting that the Pios committed three costly errors to help the Jackets. “We didn’t play well defensively at all.”
Soper said another reason he started Hoffpauir instead of Faulk or No. 2 pitcher David Frank was because he(Soper) felt the pressure of a sophomore  having to possibly pitch a Game 3 was too much to ask.
“That’s why this win was so huge,” said Soper. “Now we have our Nos. 1 and 2 pitchers in case we have to go three games. Hopefully it won’t.”
For a while Friday, it appeared the series would - and still could - go three games.
With Kinder starting pitcher Gavin Sonnier, a McNeese signee, throwing upwards of 90 miles an hour, the Pios scratched for runs. But while runs were at a premium, base runners were not: Sonnier gave up only one hit over 4 2/3 innings, but walked five and hit four Pios.
Kinder led 3-2 when Sonnier was lifted for another McNeese signee - Wells Cooley after he (Sonnier) hit one batter and walked another. A fielder’s choice by Hoffpauir scored the tying run and, following a balk, Taylor Faulk doubled to put the Pios on top 5-3.
The score remained that way until the top of the seventh and the Pios (19-13-1) appeared to have the game wrapped up with two outs and a Kinder runner at second.
But a dropped fly ball in the outfield on what would have been the final out of the game followed by an RBI double suddenly tied the game at 5-5 and increased the drama in what had already been a wild and woolly game.
“Luckily, Joe (Faulk) leads off the bottom of the seventh with a double,” Soper said. “We sacrifice him to third;  they (Jackets) intentionally walk the next two batters and then John comes up with the big fly to left to score the winning run.
“All those games against those good teams during the regular season got us ready for this. We didn’t panic. We hung in there tough and the kids came through when we needed it most.
“Tonight was huge for us....huge. Thank God.”
Offensively, Joe Faulk, Taylor Faulk and Thomas Stevens had the Pios’ only hits.
Saturday mornings heavy rains put the series schedule on hold. Soper hoped to get in Game 2 sometime during rain breaks. If not, the series must be completed by Monday. Rain chances Sunday and Monday were both at 80 percent as of Saturday morning.
No details on the Crowley High or Iota games were available from the schools at presstime.