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Scoring has been down throughout Louisiana high school baseball in the past few years – a byproduct of the new, watered down bats that are now used in the sport.
Apparently South Terrebonne didn’t get the memo about offense being at a premium.
Lately, they’ve been scoring runs by the dozen.
The Gators are red-hot entering the Class 4A State Playoffs, having won six-straight games to close out the regular season with an 18-6 record (8-2 in district play).
South Terrebonne earned the No. 12-seed in Class 4A and battled No. 21 Cecilia on Tuesday afternoon with no score available at press-time.
The spark behind the team’s winning ways is a dominant offense that’s slashed opponents for 103 runs in nine games throughout April – a unit that coach Stephen Barba Jr. said the Gators will rely heavily upon when postseason play begins this week throughout Louisiana.
“We can score runs,” Barba said. “That’s something that’s been a strength of ours all season. Every, single guy on the team has accepted their role. Our kids don’t get to the plate and try and do too much. They take what’s given to them and understand the job that they have to do. That’s been big for us this season.”
The reason that the Gators can always be capable of a big inning is because of the offensive balance that the team has throughout its batting order.
From one-to-nine in the lineup, South Terrebonne is lethal, possessing hitters who can consistently put the ball in play – often with authority.
At the top of the order, the Gators are loaded with Beau Freeman, Blake Freeman, Brett Franks and Logan Soulet manning the top four spots – each capable of hitting a home run on a given at bat.
In the opening game of the team’s two-day slate with South Lafourche last week, Franks was 2-of-3 with a pair of walks, while Freeman hit a towering home run deep over the right field fence in the Gators’ 11-4 victory.
In the second game, the Gators’ top four batters combined to drive home seven runs, pacing the team in a 16-6 win.
“Those guys have been consistently good for us throughout the year,” Barba said. “If we can get on base and give them a chance to drive runners in, we’re in good shape, because we like our chances with them at the plate with runners on base. They’ve all been able to come through for us throughout the year.”
But what’s made the Gators evolve from a good offense to a great offense lately has been what’s happening when the bottom of the order gets its chance to hit.
Barba said he’s most proud of the work that the bottom of his lineup has done in recent weeks – especially in the final games of district play.
Those efforts would be from guys like John Gregoire, Conner Brunet, Davis Arceneaux, Trevor Croche and Andre’ Blanchard – all who bat on the bottom-half of the lineup, but are capable of having success.
In the series against the Tarpons, Blanchard batted out of the nine-hole in both games and record five combined hits, including a 4-of-4 performance in the series’ opening game last Tuesday.
In game 2 of that series, it was Brunet and Crochet’s turn. Batting seventh and eighth, respectively, the duo combined to go 4-of-4 with three RBI.
“The bottom of my order can be the top of my order,” Barba said. “And really, no one would notice much of a difference. Some of my highest batting averages are the kids at the bottom of the order. There’s not a drop-off.”
But don’t be mistaken – the Gators can pitch and play defense, too.
South Terrebonne is known for its offense, but the team’s defense isn’t shabby, either, having allowed four or fewer runs in 13 of the team’s 24 games this season.
Brunet is one of the team’s aces on the mound – possessing the ability to throw several pitches in the strike zone at different speeds.
When he’s not on the mound, the Gators rely on a plethora of arms, including Beau Freeman, Blake Freeman, Chance Lile, Arceneaux and others.
Barba said the team’s defensive goals are pretty simple – get three outs as quickly as possible so that the offense can get back on the field and do some damage.
“Our kids are comfortable, because they know if they can get outs, there’s a very good offense behind them,” Barba said. •
