Ascension Athletics for June 8, 2017 – The Advocate

Four Bulldog players land make Class 1A All-State baseball and softball

The Ascension Catholic Bulldogs earned their way to the Division IV semifinals in baseball this season with a 9-3 district mark and a 19-13 overall record. That performance helped two players earn Louisiana Sports Writers Associations All-State berths and an honorable mention for another.

The two Bulldogs selected to the first team were senior standouts and also happened to become LSU-Eunice signees. The first was pitcher Landon Clifton, who had an outstanding 10-4 record and a 1.95 ERA on the mound. The other was infielder Nick Bellina, who sported a whopping .420 batting average and 39 RBIs in his senior year. Junior Mason Zeringue earned an honorable mention.

The Lady Bulldogs made it to the quarterfinals in softball this season and put a pair of players on the Louisiana Sports Writers Associations softball squads. Infielder Ceily Grisaffe hit for an impressive .417 batting average and added 19 RBIs for her hitting totals. Utility player Isabelle Abadie hit for a .373 batting average and added 20 RBIs to make the softball squad.

In District 5-5A, first-team selections were pitchers Austin Bankert of Dutchtown and Blayne Enlow of St. Amant; catcher Jacob Thompson of East Ascension; infielders Larson Fontenot of St. Amant, Cameron Sibley of Dutchtown, Joseph Stephens of East Ascension and Jack Merrifield of Dutchtown; outfielders Zach Johnson of Dutchtown and Zane Zeppuhar of St. Amant; and utility players Noah Fontenot of East Ascension and Cameron Crawford of Dutchtown.

Second-team selections included pitchers Cade Blanchard of Dutchtown and Colin Schutz of St. Amant; catcher Reid Bouchereau of Dutchtown; infielders Kolby Blanchard and Ivan Prejean, both of St. Amant, and Preston Thrash of East Ascension; outfielders Sammy Waguespack of Dutchtown, Pat Wolfe of St. Amant and Ryan Williams of East Ascension; and utility players Brayden Caskey of Dutchtown, Tory Louis of McKinley and Reese Hebert of East Ascension. The Most Valuable Player was pitcher and LSU signee Blayne Enlow of St. Amant.

District 6-1A first-team selections included senior Dylan Hurst of Ascension Catholic and sophomore Nic Montalbano of Ascension Christian as pitchers; senior Nick Bellina and senior Ross Ponville, both of Ascension Catholic, and junior Mason Braud of Ascension Christian as infielders; Mason Zeringue of Ascension Catholic and sophomore Tyler Cambre of Ascension Christian as outfielders; and senior Payton Bahlinger of Ascension Christian, senior William Dunn of Ascension Catholic and junior Landon Ortego of Ascension Christian as utility players.

Second-team selections were junior Josh Diez of Ascension Christian and senior D.J. Giroir of Ascension Catholic as pitchers; junior Charlie Gianelloni of Ascension Catholic as an infielder; sophomore Rodney Blanchard of Ascension Catholic as an outfielder; and senior Dylan Vice of Ascension Catholic and senior Jacob Antie and sophomore Sal Montalbano, both of Ascension Christian, as utility players.

Selected to the District 5-5A first team were freshman Carly Turner of Dutchtown and freshman Alyssa Romano of St. Amant as pitchers; freshman Paige Patterson of Dutchtown as a catcher; senior McKenzie King, junior Taylor Tidwell and senior Pamela Carbo, all of St. Amant, junior Hannah Martin of Dutchtown and sophomore Rachel Ducote of East Ascension as infielders; senior Abby McKey and junior Jadyn Rumfellow, both of St. Amant, and senior Blayne Pence of Dutchtown as outfielders; junior Baylee Bourgeois of Dutchtown, junior Grace Bagwell of East Ascension and juniors Madison Hurt and Brooke Romano, both of St. Amant, as utility players; and junior Dena Lowe of Dutchtown as designated hitter.

Selected on the second team were freshman Erin Hardy of Dutchtown and sophomore Erin Nicol of East Ascension as pitchers; sophomore Chandler Guedry of St. Amant and sophomore Brynnen Gautreau of East Ascension as catchers; junior Meagan Ross of East Ascension as an infielder; sophomores Skylar Boyd and Kaylee Sharpe, both of Dutchtown, as outfielders; freshman Camille Dawsey of Dutchtown as a utility player; and freshman Jesse Allison of St. Amant as designated player.

Senior Abby McKey of the St. Amant Gators was selected Most Valuable Player while Amy Pitre of St. Amant was chosen as Coach of the Year.

District 6-1A first-team selections were eighth-grader Madison Gautreau of Ascension Christian and freshman Emily Beck of Ascension Christian as pitchers; eighth-grader Hallie Dupree of Ascension Christian and sophomore Ceiley Grisaffe of Ascension Catholic as catchers; eighth-grader Layla Thompson of Ascension Christian and juniors Alicia Canatella and Lauren Landry and sophomore Isabella Abadie, all of Ascension Catholic, as infielders; and junior Bailey Acosta and senior Carson Dunn, both of Ascension Catholic, as outfielders.

Second-team selections were freshman Angelle Theriot of Ascension Catholic as a pitcher; senior Kaley Ryan and junior Lauren Thompson, both of Ascension Christian, and junior Abagail Landry and eighth-grader Mackenzie Marroy, both of Ascension Catholic, as infielders; and senior Emily Millet of Ascension Christian and sophomore Emme Medine of Ascension Catholic as outfielders.

Most Valuable Player was sophomore Ceily Grisaffe of Ascension Catholic. Don Henry of Ascension Catholic was named Coach of the Year.

Ascension Parish has lost one of its great role models, mentors, teachers, principals and, most of all, coaches. W.J. "Butch" Little passed away on May 26.

His teaching, coaching and administrative positions spanned nearly half a century and included stints as a boys basketball coach at East Ascension and a girls basketball coach at Donaldsonville and Lutcher high schools. Coach Little had more than 750 wins during his career that spanned parts of five decades. He also was a vice principal and principal at East Ascension and served on the LHSAA's executive committee.

Little played high school basketball at French Settlement and earned a scholarship to Southeastern Louisiana University, where he had a memorable basketball career.

After college, Little accepted his first coaching and teaching role at St. Theresa of Avila in 1967. Thats where our paths crossed for the first of many times in my life, and its one Ill never forget.

Little had high expectations in the classroom and on the basketball court that some might interpret as stern at first glance. But that character trait was inspired by his love for his kids. Along with those expectations was plenty of humor and friendship highlighted by an infectious smile I can see every time I think of him.

But basketball was in his blood as a player and even more as a coach. In our ninth-grade year, the Warrior basketball team was probably a little better than average. Our starting five consisted of Kent Schexnaydre, Edgar Amedee, Jeff Lanoux, A.P. Marchand and Dennis Haydel.

The Warriors had tough opposition. The Gonzales Bulldogs probably had the best talent with Sidney Lambert, Glen Decoteau and Jerry Babin. The other team was the St. Amant Wildcats, led by Kent Melancon and Gabe Mayers. Back in the day, Gabe stood a towering 6 feet, 3 inches tall and we might as well have been playing against Shaquille ONeal.

Little had a strategy for each game and player when we played those better teams. It was awesome to see him get 110 percent out of each player because of the respect he earned from each one of us by his leadership. The St. Theresa Warriors went on to claim the junior high parish championship that season.

Coach Little went on from that first opportunity to influence generations of kids, whether a student or an athlete. Our paths crossed many more times in my life. I have a little hole in my heart right now that might ache for a little while, but its a good hurt. Butch Little, you may be gone from here, but your influence will be passed on for generations to come.

Jambalaya lunches are on sale starting at 10 a.m. Saturday at Delaunes Hardware on La. 44 to raise money for the four Ascension Parish fishing teams that qualified for the National High School Fishing Championship in Paris, Tennessee, later this summer.

Jambalaya is $7 a plate and tickets are available for a $300 gift basket.

Lyle Johnson, a writer and host of the Ascension Outdoors cable TV show, covers sports and the outdoors for The Ascension Advocate. He can be contacted at reelman@eatel.net or ascension@theadvocate.com.