Trojans top rivals, win share of district title

It was a one-run game in the bottom of the seventh inning Thursday evening.

The district championship was on the line.

And arguably the Tri-parish area’s biggest rivals were sharing the diamond – South Lafourche and Central Lafourche.

“This is a big rivalry,” said South Lafourche coach Kit Laird. “The stakes were high, the atmosphere was great. You just couldn’t ask for a better opportunity.”

With a win, the Tarpons would have secured their first outright district title in baseball since 1984, while also avenging a loss to the Trojans on April 9 in Mathews.

For the Trojans, victory meant a share of the district championship and a guaranteed spot in the playoffs. A loss meant a play-in game against Assumption with the playoffs on the line the following day.

The stakes were high, the game was wild and in the end it was the Trojans who had the ball bounce the right way last, allowing them to come out on top and secure a 10-9 win.

“What you just saw was a great baseball game between two very good teams who got to play each other today,” said Central Lafourche coach Scott Duplantis. “It came down to the wire and it’s not the finish they wanted in the other dugout … but I can promise you our kids on that bus will remember this one for the rest of their lives.”

Fans of both teams piled into the Tarpons’ baseball complex, creating a standing-room-only crowd.

When kept neatly separated, the Tarpon and Trojan faithful play nice, but with a full crowd forcing them to intertwine, blue and green did not mix well and there was some dialog between the fans in the park throughout the game – some friendly and some not as friendly.

“At times, I think we honestly got caught up in the moment,” Duplantis said. “This atmosphere was incredible. This place was rocking, and it was truly a memorable night.”

But on the field is where the mercury rose to its highest level.

South Lafourche coach Kit Laird was ejected for arguing a play at home plate and players on both sides were summoned to home plate in the same inning by umpires to get tempers under control.

Things reached their climax in the final inning when the tying run slid into third base for the Tarpons with no outs.

Tarpon Erik Trosclair appeared to beat the throw to the base and was initially called safe. But Trosclair skidded off the base and was tagged out by Trojans’ third baseman Taylor Portero.

Fans erupted and said Portero forced Trosclair off the bag.

But the call stood, and the Tarpons’ rally ended, sealing a Trojans’ win and sending a fan onto the field and others to hound the umpires as they left the field.

Laird was not able to see the play following his ejection, but said he is confident the umpires would have missed the call by the way they’d performed throughout the game.

The crew looked uncertain about several plays that favored both sides throughout the afternoon and often huddled together before making a final call.

“They either need to make the call or not make the call,” Laird said. “But we can’t do anything about that. We don’t assign the umpires to the biggest games.”

Prior to Thursday’s game, Duplantis said baseball was one sport where the schools had not experienced much turmoil.

“We usually have a lot of fun with each other,” he said. “Our coaches usually have great communication. The players know each other. It just goes to show that tonight when you throw that little bit extra and put a district championship on the table, and you have to put your friendships aside for a while.”

With the season complete, the Trojans and Tarpons will now move to the playoffs with a share of the district title.

The Tarpons got into the playoffs as the No. 30 seed and will travel to play Lafayette in the first round.

Laird said he hopes his team can put aside the loss and focus on the postseason.

“I told our kids, ‘Keep your heads up, because you’re still co-champs,'” Laird said. “I told them to get this game out of their systems and come back ready on Monday, because we’ve got to be ready for the playoffs Wednesday.”

Duplantis said the same thing of his team, who enter the 32-team field as the No. 27 seed and will play Rummel.

The Trojans started district 2-3 before winning seven-straight games to clinch their half of the title.

“We had our backs against the wall and we were looking at missing out on the playoffs,” the Trojans’ coach said. “But we just started playing well … and I honestly don’t know if we’ve peaked yet.”

Elsewhere in the Tri-parish area:

The playoffs began in the area for every other classification, and a few locals are still in the hunt.

No. 7-seed Vandebilt Catholic moved to the second round in Class 4A with a 7-0 opening round win against Bossier.

In Class 3A, No. 8-seed E.D. White moved on by beating Rayville 15-4.

Houma Christian advanced to the playoffs in Class B, but were beaten in the opening round 13-1 by No. 7-seed Maurepas.

Central Lafourche pitcher Jace Cheramie fires a pitch during last Thursday’s victory against South Lafourche. The Trojans won a share of the district title with the Tarpons in the win. * Photo by CASEY GISCLAIR