Bobcats fall to Warriors

BATON ROUGE – The St. Michael High Warriors rallied from an earlier deficit to defeat the Eunice High Bobcats by an 8-6 margin here Tuesday afternoon on their home field in the regional round of the Class 4A playoffs.
Coach Scott Phillips’ 12th-seeded Bobcats stunned the fifth-seeded Warriors with a four-run first inning for the early lead. Andrew Lomas doubled and Scotty Bihm was hit by a pitch to open the inning. Jordan Comeaux reached safely on an error to load the bases before Wes Hebert doubled home two runs with a liner into the right-center field gap. Comeaux would score on a groundout by A. P. Sonnier and Hebert scored when Brennan Ashley reached on an error.
Eunice starter Caleb Taylor was touched for a single by leadoff hitter Kyle Cannatella, but he was erased on a D Chris Reid. The Cats failed to turn the double play, however, which would come back to haunt them. After Taylor fanned Austin Edens for the second out, John Thomas Maulden homered to cut the lead to 4-2. Zack Harris followed with a solo homer to cut the lead to 4-3 before recorded the third out.
The Cats managed a run in the third inning off reliever Dylan McElroy for a 5-4 lead. Hebert collected his second double of the game and scored on a single by Jake Sonnier.
But the Warriors scored two runs in the bottom of third to tie the game and chase Taylor from the mound. Those runs came on back-to-back home runs by Edens and Mauldin. Bihm relived Taylor and escaped further damage.
St. Michael took a 6-5 lead with a run in the fourth. Ross Scelfo reached on an infield hit and went to second on a single by Cannatella. An errant pickoff at second allowed the lead run to score.
The Cats came close to regaining the lead in the fifth after Lomas drew a walk. With two out Hebert launched a high drive to left field that Harris was able to snare at the fence for the third out.
The Warriors added to their lead to 8-5 in the sixth on a single by Cannatella, a double by Reid, and a single by Edens before Bihm pitched out of a bases loaded situation.
The Cats tried to rally in the top of the seventh as Fruge reached safely on a wild pitch strikeout and went to second on another wild pitch. Gunner Fontenot doubled to score Fruge and cut the lead to 8-6. With one out, Bihm drove a grounder which appeared headed for right field, but second baseman Cannatella laid out to snare the ball and throw Bihm out at first base. Reliever Laine Fontenot then retired Comeaux on a ground out to end the game.
The Bobcats end their season with a 25-8 record. The Warriors move to the state quarterfinals with a 22-9 mark.
“I thought my team gave me everything they had,” said Coach Phillips. “We just came up a little short, but I was very proud of the effort of our team.”