Bobcats open district with win over Tigers

OPELOUSAS – The Eunice High Bobcats began District 4-4A play with an 11-3 victory over the Opelousas High Tigers here Tuesday.
The Bobcats fell behind early on as the Tigers parlayed two walks and two hits into two runs in the bottom of the first inning.
The Cats tied the game in the second with two runs of their own. With one out, Caleb Taylor singled, Travis Godfrey drew a walk, and Cade Richard singled home a run. Gunner Fontenot followed Richard with a base hit to score Godfrey to tie the game.
The Tigers drew back ahead with a run in the bottom of the second as Tanny Wheeler doubled and eventually scored on a groundout by T. J. Pitre.
The Cats tied the game at 3-3 with a run in the fourth. Fontenot reached first base on an error, stole two bases, and came home on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Christian Taylor.
The Bobcats would break open the game in the fifth against a tiring D. J. Wheeler, the Tigers’ starting pitcher. A. P. Sonnier began the inning with a single and Wheeler loaded the bases by walking Christian Lejeune and hitting Caleb Taylor with a pitch. Jonas Granger was hit by a pitch to drive in Sonnier. Godfrey singled home another run before singles by Richard and Christian Taylor as well as two more walks gave the Cats a 7-run inning and a 10-3 lead.
Christian Taylor earned the win after relieving starter Logan Manuel in the bottom of the first inning. Taylor worked 6 2/3 innings, allowing just three hits and one earned run. He walked one and struck out nine.
On Monday, in Mamou, the Bobcats claimed a 3-1 non-district victory over the Green Demons. The Bobcats did all of their scoring in the first inning as Fontenot walked and Wes Hebert hit his third home run of the season. Singles by Sonnier and Alec Trosclair as well as a two Mamou errors produced a third run.
Mamou got one run back in the bottom of the first as Dylan Duplechain walked and eventually scored on an error by the Cats. But Eunice junior pitcher Caleb Taylor pitched shutout ball over the remaining six innings to ensure the victory. Taylor scattered six hits and struck out five. He walked none and gave up only the one unearned run.
Eunice High managed to hold off a late rally by the Mangham High Dragons on Saturday to claim an 8-7 victory in action at the John R. Young Chevrolet/Frey Construction Baseball Tournament this past weekend.
But the Bobcats faltered in action on Friday and Sunday, falling to St. Michael (8-1) and to Pine Prairie (6-4).
Against St. Michael, the Cats struggled offensively against pitcher Jonathan Lofton, managing just four hits and one run in six innings. The lone run for the Cats came in the sixth inning on a double by Gunner Fontenot, who advanced on a ground out by Logan Manuel and scored on a grounder by A. P. Sonnier.
The Warriors chased Eunice starter Caleb Taylor with a three-run third inning to go up 5-0. Chris Reid had two doubles and Michael Smith had a double and a single to lead the Warriors’ offense. Cade Richard had two singles and Wes Hebert had one single for the Bobcats.
Against Mangham, the Bobcats took a 6-0 first-inning lead against pitcher Will Harwell, who walked two and hit one batter to load the bases to start the game. Harwell was lifted, but Chris Fleming couldn’t contain the damage as he walked two and hit another batter to put the Cats up 4-0.
The Cats made it 6-0 on RBI singles by Travis Godfrey and Richard against Fleming. The Cats added a run in the second inning for a 7-0 lead.
But the Bobcat pitching proved ineffective as the Dragons scored a run in the second, two in the third, another in the fourth, and two in the fifth to cut the lead to 7-6. Eunice sophomore pitcher Christian Taylor calmed the situation in the sixth by retiring the side in order, and the Cats scored an eighth run in the bottom of the sixth on a double by Christian Lejeune and a single by Godfrey to take an 8-6 lead.
But Mangham’s Ridge Heisier led off the seventh inning with a home run off Taylor to open the top of the seventh and Sonnier was brought to the mound in relief. Sonnier faced four batters, allowing a single, but retired the other three batters he faced to earn a save and give his team a victory.
Against Pine Prairie, the Bobcats’ defense committed four errors in the first three innings, and the Panthers took advantage to claim a 5-0 lead. The Cats cut into the lead with a three-run third inning highlighted by Sonnier’s two-run double and singles by Richard and Fontenot.
The Panthers added another run in the fourth inning for a 6-3 lead, but Hebert hit a solo home run in the Eunice fifth inning to cut the lead to 6-4. The Cats had runners in scoring position in both the sixth and seventh innings, but Panthers’ starter Dylan Doucet and reliever J. T. Joubert each worked out of trouble to preserve the victory for Pine Prairie.