Gators baseball seeks ‘underdog’ push

The South Terrebonne baseball team is going to the Class 4A State Playoffs.

Now, they’re focused on making some noise as an underdog.

The Gators will be in the playoffs, but are going to be one of the lower-seeded teams in the 32-team field, earning the No. 25 seed and a first-round date with No. 8 West Ouachita.

But being an underdog is of no bother to South Terrebonne coach Sham Gabehart, who said that he believes his team has the combination of talent and guts to upset some of the top teams in the bracket.

“We’re 17-12, and we’ve been competitive in pretty much every game that we’ve played,” Gabehart said. “Hopefully, we’re going to be able to make a little bit of a playoff run as an underdog.”

For the Gators, a balanced attack that combines both timely hitting and efficient pitching has been the key.

Gabehard said that on offense, the Gators strive to get runners on base in an effort to manufacture runs via bunting, hitting and running and stolen bases – something that is commonplace in modern prep baseball where the bats have been watered down.

South Terrebonne has scored six or more runs 15 times in 29 varsity games. Often times in those games, the Gators scored in double digits.

Gabehart said seniors Tyler Crochet, Drey Dupre, Landon Trahan and Caleb Pellegrin are the key culprit in most of South Terrebonne’s rallies. The coach said their leadership and experience are key to the team.

“Those four guys have been around a while,” Gabehart said. “They’re all in the top-half of the lineup and lead the team in a lot of offensive statistics.”

With the top guys in the batting order trying to reach base cleanly, Gabehart said the onus often falls on the bottom-half of the order to move them over and/or drive them in. The coach said the Gators’ offense thrives on small-ball situations in an effort to manufacture runs.

“We bunt the ball fairly well,” Gabehart said. “We hit and run fairly well. We’re working on being consistent. Consistency has been our biggest issue. If we’d have been a little bit more consistent, instead of being 17-12, maybe we’d be 20-9 or 21-8. So consistency is something we want to work on going toward the playoffs.”

While the Gators try to use a total team effort of hitting, bunting and running to score runs, the same team-first philosophy exists for the team on the mound.

It all starts with Dupre who is unquestionably the Gators’ ace pitcher – the guy South Terrebonne turns to as staring pitcher anytime they need a quality performance. Possessing a quality fastball, curveball and changeup within his arsenal, Dupre beats opponents both with talent and also temperament. The coach said his ace pitcher never gets rattled or flustered in the game.

“He was one of our top two pitchers last year and he’s our top guy this year,” Gabehart said. “He has a very good temperament on the mound – which is very, very important. He has the ability to handle things well in the flow of the game. He never gets high and never gets low. He’s our ace. He’s been very consistent on the mound for us this year.”

After Dupre, the Gators just sort-of piece it together. When the ace pitcher is unavailable on the mound, the Gators use a variety of guys on the bump, often employing a “Johnny Allstaff” approach to those games.

“Johnny Allstaff” is a baseball term used when a team pitches several pitchers (all of the guys on the staff) to piece through a game.

“After Drey, we pretty much just staff games,” Gabehart said. “We just piece it together. We don’t have a true No. 2 pitcher. We just ride who’s hot and get ourselves through games.”

So with the winning season in hand and the postseason near, Gabehart said his focus is getting his players ready to make an improbable playoff surge.

The coach said he knows that the Gators will not be able to “out-talent” anyone.

But in baseball, sometimes one can overcome talent with unity and a total team effort. Getting that 100 percent buy-in is what the coach wants to see happen in the postseason.

The analogy he used is one from the Bible, which is that everyone has a role-just like the human body. The coach said that even the little toe has a purpose – balance and stability. The same is relevant for baseball. Everyone has a role and a purpose. Doing and fulfilling just those roles can make a team dominant.

“If we can get that 100 percent buy-in, that’s victory regardless of the score,” Gabehart said. “That’s what we’re trying to do here.”

South Terrebonne pitcher Tyler Crochet fires a pitch during a game this season. The Gators are the No. 25 seed in the Class 4A State Playoffs. They will try and make a playoff push as an underdog.

COURTESY PHOTO