Ascension Athletics for July 13, 2017 – The Advocate

Noah Fontenot strikes out 15 as Gauthier & Amedee win twice over weekend

The Gauthier & Amedee Wombats traveled to Westwego for their first-round game against Refuel, an Archbishop Shaw-based team from Marrero. Wombats starting pitcher Noah Fontenot actually was supposed to get a chance to pitch at Kirsch-Rooney Stadium where Delgado Community College plays. Its where he is scheduled to pitch for the next two years with the Dolphins.

Bad weather played a role in Fontenots opportunity to play at his future home field and moved Saturdays American Legion southeast regional to Segnette Field. Fontenot didnt let the move shake him at all and proceeded to pitch his best game to date in his young career.

Fontenots one-hitter, 5-1 victory moved his record to a perfect 5-0 for the Wombats, which is not terribly surprising as he finished his senior year at East Ascension compiling an 8-3 record on the mound for the Spartans in 2017.

My time at East Ascension playing for the Spartans will be a memory Ill never forget, Fontenot said. The people were great and treated me well; it was a lot of fun. Both of my parents went there and my dad, Andy, played baseball for the Spartans as well, so its sort of like keeping a family tradition alive.

Fontenot not only allowed just one hit but he struck out a career-high 15 batters going the distance, pitching a complete game in Gautier & Amedees victory over Refuel. Striking out for the opposing batters was not a unique item as the Delgado signee struck out everyone on the team at least one time and struck out the side in three different innings.

Fontenot retired the first two batters, then put two runners on base with a hit batter and a walk before ending the inning with a strikeout. But that was the end of the jitters. I got more and more confident with every inning, Fontenot said. I nailed the location on my fastball and I was able to throw my off-speed stuff for strikes.

Gauthier & Amadee started things off as they took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning. Dutchtowns Cameron Crawford stroked a bases-loaded single and drove in Larson Fontenot and EAs Preston Thrash. Another run was added by the Wombats on Brayden Caskeys groundout.

A single to left field by Devin Lansing in the third inning was Refuels (5-3) lone hit with one out and was left stranded at second base. Fontenot then retired 10 batters in a row after that single and a walk to pitcher Rene Brupbacher while fanning the side in the sixth.

For Gauthier & Amedee, Crawford went 2-4 on the game with 2 RBIs and a stolen base. Caskey was 1-3 with an RBI, while Larson Fontenot went 1-2, scored a run and had one stolen base. Preston Thrash went 1-2, scored 2 runs, had 2 walks and a pair of stolen bases.

On Sunday nights second round game at 6:30 p.m., the Wombats faced De La Salle-based Best Chevrolet at Kirsch-Rooney. Dutchtowns Jack Merrifield took the mound as the scheduled starter for G&A. The win moved the Ascension Parish based team one game away from reaching the American Legion state tournament as it hammered Best Chevrolet with an 11-1 mercy-rule victory in five innings.

G&As starter Jack Merrifield of Dutchtown took a no-hitter into the bottom of the fifth inning and was replaced by Jacob Spell after allowing a lead-off single to Corey Cook to right field. Merrifield (2-1) walked two and struck out four before being lifted.

G&A registered 11 hits and scored in every inning but the second. The Wombats scored two runs in the first inning, then tacked on another run in the third and blew things wide open, scoring seven more in the fourth inning.

Merrifield picked up the win and fellow Griffin Crawford led the way on offense with three hits, including a double and triple and two RBIs. Ivan Prejean was 1 for 1 picking up four RBIs and Merrifield piled on a pair of hits including a double and 2 RBIs to aid his pitching effort.

By press time, G&A (20-4-1) will have faced the defending state champion Pedal Valves on Monday night. A win will have sent the Wombats into Wednesdays championship game and lock in a berth in next weeks state tournament.

The effects from Tropical Storm Cindy are long gone and the water levels finally have returned to normal. The temperatures are heating up to summertime levels and so is the fishing.

Our waterways in the Amite/Blind River Basin have gone a few years without a major hurricane, which usually decimates the fish population for two or three years. They have made quite a comeback since the last one.

The summertime patterns are coming into play as far as the bass are concerned. The shad populations are very strong and that is a good thing as they are loaded with protein and the bass love to eat them. The shad form giant schools, which tend to make the bass school up and find places to ambush those schools in feeding frenzies.

Points (where two waterways meet) are one of those good locations for bass to lay in wait for an easy meal. Top water baits are a good choice for early morning activity, but dont store the rod after the sun comes up. The fish will feed throughout the day and if you catch them busting a school of shad on the surface, that top water bait will catch them any time of the day.

A crank bait is another good choice because they emulate shad and can get a school of bass stirred up enough to get in the feeding mode as well. This is a bait that can be fished really fast and cover a lot of water you to fish plenty of places a little quicker than other baits.

The plastic worm about rounds out my top three selections for summertime fishing for bass and probably is my favorite. This bait is versatile in the ways one can use them to entice a bass into biting. Texas rigged is probably the favorite style to fish, but the drop shot and the Carolina rig work well also.

The time is right and the fishing is hot, but so is the weather. The temperatures are in the dangerous zone as far as hydration is concerned. Bring plenty of water and hydrating drinks along for the trip. Its quite easy to get caught up in the fishing and forget about drinking water. Start when itsstill not too hot because its not easy to catch up if heat-related issues take place. Be safe on the water.

See the rest here:

Ascension Athletics for July 13, 2017 - The Advocate