Central Catholic rallies to oust Ascension Catholic 5-4 in 11 innings … – The Advocate

SULPHURBoth teams knew it would take a clutch hit to win. The only question was when it would happen.

There were five scoreless innings before Mitchell Lemoine delivered a bases-loaded single in the bottom of the 11th-inning to lift top-seeded Central Catholic to a 5-4 victory over Ascension Catholic in a Division IV semifinal game.

Lemoine also came on in relief and picked up his first career win in the game that closed the first day of the Allstate Sugar Bowl/LHSAA baseball tournament Wednesday night at McMurry Park.

It all comes down to getting the big hit, the timely hit, Ascension Catholic coach Todd Landry said. We had chances and so did they and they finally got it.

This wasnt the outcome we hoped for, but Im so proud of these kids. Whether or not they realize it, they took us coaches on a ride well never forget.

Lemoine, who started the game at first base, was 3-for-6 at with three RBIs for the Morgan City-based Eagles (28-7), who face Ascension Episcopal in Fridays Division IV title game set for 7 p.m. Friday

Todd and I are pretty good friends, and we thought it would be like this a one-run game, Central Catholic coach Tyler Jensen said. We beat them by one-run two years ago in the quarterfinals. Did we expect it would take 11 innings? Probably not. It was two good teams who played extremely hard.

Nick Bellina was 1-for-3 with two RBIs for fourth-seeded ACHS (21-13), which made its first LHSAA tourney appearance since 2005. Mason Zeringue had the Bulldogs' other hit. Starter Landon Clifton scattered seven hits before giving way to reliever David Giroir Jr.

Theyre a really good team, Clifton said. I thought we fought hard and made plays. My defense made plays behind me, and that's all I could ask for.

A two-run single by Bellina was the only hit in Ascension Catholics four-run second inning. CCMC starter Gregory Leger threw more than 50 pitches in the first two innings. He hit two batters and walked in a run.

Leger walked in a run and so did Blake Hidalgo, who came on in relief with two outs. But the Eagles countered by loading the bases with three bunts in the bottom of the third. Lemoine brought in one run with a single and a groundout scored the second run. In the fifth, Legers RBI double and an RBI single by Lemoine tied it.

Central Catholic kept the pressure on with base runners in five of the final six innings before Lemoines single to right field ended the game three hours after it started. ACHS had its chances too, included loading the bases in the sixth inning.

Follow Robin Fambrough on Twitter, @FambroughAdv

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Central Catholic rallies to oust Ascension Catholic 5-4 in 11 innings ... - The Advocate