Pioneers down Bobcats, 7-2

The Notre Dame Pioneers jumped to an early lead and made it hold up in taking a 7-2 victory over the Eunice Bobcats in Acadiana Metro League action Monday evening at Bobcat Field.
The Pioneers scored two runs in the first inning thanks to singles by Taylor Faulk and Pete Brown and a two-run double by Sam Hoffpauir. Eunice starter Caleb Taylor recovered to limit the damage by retiring the next three batters to end the inning. Taylor pitched a scoreless second inning before being relieved by A. P. Sonnier to start the third inning.
Sonnier struggled with his control, walking two batters and hitting two others. A couple of wild pitches brought in reliever Alec Trosclair who retired the next two batters. But the Pios scored three times for a 5-0 lead.
Pioneer starter Wyatt Sullivan pitched three shutout innings, working through a Bobcat threat in the first inning. Gunner Fontenot singled and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Logan Manuel. With two out, Sonnier singled but courtesy runner Graham Hillman was thrown out at home on the play to end the inning.
The Cats threatened in the third inning against Sullivan. Christian Lejeune opened the inning with a single and Hayden West added a single with one out. Manuel added a two-out single to load the bases, but Sullivan retired Jordan Comeaux to preserve the 5-0 lead.
The Pioneers increased their lead to 7-0 with a two-run fifth inning, but the Cats scored their first run in the bottom of the fifth against relief pitcher David Frank. The run came on Sonnier’s two-out single. Fontenot added a single in the inning for the Cats.
The Cats cut the lead to 7-2 in the sixth inning. Alex Richard drew a walk, advanced to second on a groundout by Logan Dischler, and scored on an error. But Pioneer reliever Greg Grant retired the side, then shut down the Cats in the seventh to preserve the victory.
Brandon Martel and Logan Manuel pitched the sixth and seventh inning, respectively, for the Cats, with neither allowing a hit. The Bobcats had eight hits for the game, but left 10 runners stranded on base. Sonnier led the Cats with three hits and a RBI. Fontenot added two hits, with Manuel, Lejeune, and West adding one hit apiece.
The Cats will hit the road on Wednesday to face Rayne. The Cats will host Mamou on Monday.