Warriors blank Reeves to earn state tourney berth

REEVES – The monkey is finally off their back.
The Northside Christian baseball team ended a six-year quarterfinal-round drought on Friday and in doing so earned the school’s first ever berth in the LHSAA Class C State Baseball Tournament.
The No. 1-seeded Warriors did it with an impressive 10-0 road victory over Reeves that now sends them against Elizabeth in the semifinals on Thursday at McMurry Park in Sulphur. First pitch for that contest is slated for 7 p.m.
“This is a big step for our program,” said NCS coach Lane Marceaux, whose team improved to 22-5. “We’ve been really close a few times (to winning) but we could just never get over that hump.
“But we knew we had a good group coming back this year and it just feels good.
“I’m just proud of our kids and all of our coaches. They did a wonderful job to get this far, but we are not satisfied. We don’t know who we play yet (in the semifinals) and it really doesn’t matter, we’re just happy that we get to make that trip this year.”
The victory and the dogpile that followed after the final out was recorded brought a sigh of relief to Marceaux, who was concerned about the contest.
And rightfully so after watching his Warriors have to rally in the final two innings earlier in the season to slip past Reeves at Miller Stadium, 6-5.
“I was really concerned about this team,” said Marceaux. “They had played some good games and some good teams so I was really worried. But I knew if we pitched and hit (well) we would be okay.”
Pitch and hit well they did.
Bradley Ancelet gave his offense the time they needed to come alive by tossing a three-hit shutout at the Raiders. He struck out three and got five flyouts and nine groundouts, one being a double play in the first inning.
“Bradley is not a big strikeout pitcher, but he keeps you off balance and that’s what he did today,” said Marceaux. “He was hitting his spots and his changeup and curve were both working great.”
Offensively, the Warriors pounded out 14 hits off three different pitchers. They collected six of those hits in a four-run third inning. They added three doubles and three runs in the fourth inning before plating another run in the fifth and two in the sixth.
“We really came through at the plate today and it was really the entire lineup,” said Marceaux. “From top to bottom, everyone contributed.”
Ancelet helped his own cause by going 3-for-4 at the plate with a double, an RBI and three runs scored.
Joseph Trahan also had three hits, including a pair of doubles and three RBI.
Christian Morgan collected two hits and two RBI; Jordan Monte had two doubles and an RBI and Dylan King added a double and a single. Bryce Gatte singled in a run, Dillon Hayes had a single and Nick Zaunbrecher picked up an RBI on a sacrifice fly.
“Bradley, Joseph and Jordan have been pretty solid at the plate all year,” said Marceaux. “And the last three games, Christian and Dylan have really been hitting the ball well. Everyone is really coming around at the right time.”