RESERVE – Davey Clement of Riverside Academy is L’Observateur’s 2001 Baseball Coach of the Year. This year, the Riverside Academy Rebels went 22-12 and advanced to the state championships. Throughout the season Riverside depended on a ferocious batting attack backed up by ace pitching. During the playoffs and up until the state championships, Riverside outscored its opponents 45-6. The state championships were held at Episcopal High School in Baton Rouge, where the team faced Catholic High School of New Iberia, which had previously defeated the Isidore Newman School, the defending state champions. “We were one game away from our goal,” Coach Clement said. Despite the final loss, Riverside produced the best record in the River Parishes.

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RESERVE – Shawn Delaneuville of Riverside Academy is L’Observateur’s 2001 Baseball Most Valuable Player. Shawn, a senior third baseman, was one of Riverside’s team leaders. He hit .473 and was responsible for 63 RBIs and 18 home runs. Along with the home runs, Shawn hit 12 singles, 8 doubles, and 2 triples. At the state championship game, Shawn went 2-4 with two home runs, one of which was a three-run shot in the seventh inning that put the Rebels within one run of tying the game. Shawn will be attending Delgado Community College in New Orleans in the fall where he will study business management. He also intends to play baseball. “I’m not sure Delgado realizes how good of a player they’re getting,” said Coach Davey Clement.

2001 TEAM
Pitchers: Matt Caire – Hahnville High School Jason Waguespack – St. Charles Catholic Derrick Louque – Riverside Academy T.J. Bourgeois – Lutcher High School Catcher: Larry Matherne – Destrehan High School Infielders: Darwin Pittman – East St. John Britt Waguespack – Riverside Academy Risley St. Germain – Lutcher High School Thaddeus Sutherland – St. James High	Outfielders: Nathan Louque – Reserve Christian Tim Sirmon – Hahnville High School Trey Simon – Destrehan High School Utility Players: Seth Guidry – Reserve Christian Damion Melancon – Riverside Academy Randy Ross – Destrehan High School Chris Cancienne – St. Charles Catholic Designated Hitter: Kyle Mineo – Hahnville High School

Player Profiles

Matt Caire – Senior, Hahnville High School. Caire was Hahnvilles starting pitcher. In 76 innings Caire gave up 61 hits and 18 walks for 25 earned runs. He ened the season with 71 strikeouts, an ERA of 2.30, and a record of 9-3. Caire was also active on the offense. In the state quarterfinals in New Iberia, Caire hit a solo home run over the left field fense against Catholic of Baton Rouge. “I was surprised to get that pitch,” said Caire. “Im not trying to get home runs. I turned up on it and hit it.” “He had a great senior year,” said Hahnville Coach Mark Sims. “When he played you had a feeling you would win.”Jason Waguespack – Junior, St. Charles Catholic. Waguespack went 6-3 through 72 innings for an ERA of 1.52. He threw 84 strikeouts and “Without him we wouldnt have gotten to the semis. He had an all around good year.”Derrick Louque – Junior, Riverside Academy. “Derrick was probably the most consistant pitcher we had the whole year,” said Coach Davey Clement. Louque threw for 48 innings and allowed only 19 walks while striking out 61 batters. He finished the year with an ERA of 1.91.T.J. Bourgeois – Junior, Lutcher High School. According to Lutcher Baseball Coach Scott Tribble, Bourgeois might not be the biggest kid on the team, but he was mentally 100 percent. Bourgeois threw for a total of 48 innings and struck out 53 batters while allowing 26 walks. Only .170 of all the batters he faced hit off him. He finished the year with an ERA of 2.33 and a record of 6-0. “He didnt over power kids. Hes got a good slider,” said Tribble. “Hes a competitor on the hill.”Larry Matherne – Junior, Destrehan High School. Matherne, a first team all district selection as a catcher for the Wildcats, was .351 in 77 at bats. He managed 6 home runs and 11 RBIs while batting fourth in Destrehans lineup. “He came around and solidified the defense,” said coach Mark Willoughby.Darwin Pittman – Senior, East St. John High School. The first baseman for the East St. John Wildcats was drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, continuing a tradition of baseball in his family. Pittmans older brother Thomas currently plays for the Montreal Expos organization. The younger Pittman hit .330 for eight home runs and 40 RBIs.Britt Waguespack – Junior, Riverside Academy. Waguespack played in whatever infield position was needed. “He did what he had to do,” said Coach Clement. Waguespack played second base, short stop, and catcher. On the offensive, Waguespack hit .361 with 22 RBIs and one home run. He had 20 singles, 9 doubles, and 1 triple. “He jumped from position to position to help the team out,” said Clement.Risley St. Germain – Senior, Lutcher High School. “He was the main concern for people playing us,” said Coach Tribble. St. Germain was .666 slugging, and even managed to pitch 37 1/3 innings in addition to playing the infield. Offensively St. Germain hit .337 in 83 at bats. He had 4 home runs and 30 RBIs. St. Germain has signed a letter of intent to attend Southeastern Louisiana University in the fall.Thaddeus Sutherland – Sophomore, St. James High School. Sutherland played short stop and hit .367 with 17 RBIs and 2 home runs, but his real skill was in stealing bases. Sutherland had 28 stolen bases for the year. “Hes lightning fast, and a really good player. Im looking forward to next year,” said Coach Marty Luquet.Nathan Louque – Junior, Reserve Christian. Louque started the year as Reserve Christians catcher, but was moved into the outfield. “He batted second and had a good average,” said Reserve Christian Coach Tim Byrd. “He was our most versitle player. He was a really good base runner. A solid all around player.” Louque batted .371 in 70 at bats, with 1 home run and 20 RBIs.Tim Sirmon – Senior, Hahnville High School. Sirmon batted leadoff for the Hahnville Tigers. In 98 at bats, Sirmon hit .327 with 14 RBIs. Sirmon also had 14 stolen bases for the year. “Tim batted leadoff, then clean up,” said Hahnville Coach Mark Sims. “It was good when you wrote the line up to know that he was there.”Trey Simon – Freshman, Destrehan High School. The only freshman on the All River Parish Baseball team hit .438 in 73 at bats, including 2 home runs and 11 RBIs. “He stepped up and was solid as our 2 hole hitter,” said Coach Mark Willoughby.Seth Guidry – Junior, Reserve Christian. The Co-MVP of Class B, District 12 had a career year, hitting .528 while striking out only 3 times. In 72 at bats, Guidry had 11 doubles, 1 triple, and 3 home runs. Guidry was the second leading hitter in the Metro New Orleans area. “He was our most consistant hitter. He was a good leader, and a did a really good job pitching.”Damion Melanco – Senior, Riverside Academy. “Damion was a major leader for us,” said Riverside Coach Davey Clement. “He brought it from football to basketball to baseball. He was a fighter, a scrapper.” Melancon hit .380 in 82 at bats. He managed 4 home runs, 7 RBIs, 5 doubles, and 2 triples.Randy Ross – Senior, Destrehan High School. Ross presigned with LSU in his junior year. In his senior year, Ross hit .422 in 90 at bats including 6 home runs and 25 RBIs. “He has a solid foundation. He was our 3 hole hitter, and did a really good job for us,” said Destrahan Coach Mark Willoughby.Chris Cancienne – Sophomore, St. Charles Catholic. “He had a phenominal year. He lead the team in hitting. He came up with the clutch hits for us,” said Coach Paul Waguespack. Cancienne hit .405 with 6 home runs and 34 RBIs. Kyle Mineo – Sophomore, Hahnville High School. The designated hitter for Hahnville had 36 hit, including 8 doubles and 23 RBIs. While he didnt hit a home run, he was struck out only 4 times in 104 at bats. In his first year playing varsity prep baseball, Mineo had a .346 batting average as the third batter. “You always knew that he was going to put the ball into play,” said Hahnville Coach Mark Sims.