J. EDMUND BARNES

PHOTO: Derrick Gaubert takes a big cut at the ball during Sunday’s game against Archbishop Rummel- based Schaff Brother at Kirsch-Rooney Stadium. (Staff photo by J. Edmund Barnes) NEW ORLEANS – The heat dominated the day in a way that made baseball seem secondary. Even at 9:30 in the morning it was hot. The grass at Kirsch-Rooney Stadium, normally a healthy green, was now more dust colored. Every breath of wind, no matter how soft, was a welcome relief. It was in these conditions that St. Charles Catholic High School-based Cretin Homes played in the American Le-gion Southeastern Louisiana Tournament. A 9:30 a.m. slot was something to be thankful for, as the Summer Comets did not have to play in the heat of the afternoon. The Summer Comets began their campaign to play in the State Tournament in New Iberia on Saturday, playing against Slidell High School-based Thomas Pump. Things got off to a bad start as the Summer Comets gave up two runs in the first inning. Glen Penton and Terry Cedarholm both got RBI singles, but the Summer Comets held Slidell scoreless until the fifth inning. Cretin Homes got started offensively in the second inning, when a Jeremy Triche single drove in a run. The Comets were able to score again in the third inning, tying the game at two runs apiece, but then the offense sputtered. Much of the credit or blame, depending on who one rooted for, must be given to or laid on the shoulders of Slidell pitcher Danny Davis. Davis pitched for a complete game, allowing only five hits and one earned run. Davis also struck out 13 Comets batters. The fatal damage was done in the fifth inning, when Johnny Venezia hit an RBI single while keeping the bases loaded. Then Penton came to the plate and hit a grand slam. The five-run fifth sealed the Summer Comets’ fate on Saturday. Penton ended the day by going two for three with an home run and five RBIs. Cretin Homes lost the first game to Thomas Pump by a score of 8-2. Then Retif Oil beat Schaff Brothers by 5-4, which meant that for the third time in the American Legion season St. Charles Catholic would have to face Archbishop Rummel High School. But for the first six innings, it looked to be a repeat of the past two meeting between the two teams. The Summer Comets jumped out to a 4-0 lead, while Michael Bonura’s pitching was lights out, despite the fact he was feeling sick. Rummel got on the score board in the fourth inning when it scored two runs, but St. Charles Catholic added three insurance runs in the sixth on the strength of RBI doubles by Jason Rauch and Jason Waguespack. Triche added another run on an RBI single in the inning. But then the bleeding started. By the time it stopped, Schaff Brothers had jumped out to an insurmountable 11-7 lead. The damage was done by the entire Schaff Brothers team, who batted through the line up and scored nine runs. Major contributors to the rally were Randy Bordes, who hit a two RBI single, and Child, who also had a two RBI single. On the St. Charles Catholic side, Bonura came apart in the seventh, facing only four batters but allowing all four to score. Bonura was pulled from the game and replaced by first Jeremy Catoire and then Jason Waguespack. Waguespack was able to stop the bleeding, but by then the damage had been done. In the heat of the afternoon, all hopes that Cretin homes had for a post season run quietly expired. The team went four and out in the seventh before packing it up to return to LaPlace. “You don’t realize how hard it is to get three outs,” said coach Paul Waguespack. “It looks easy on paper, but…” “We’ll bounce back,” Waguespack continued. “We’ll go into football now. Come January second we’ll be ready to go again. We did a lot of good this summer. It’s been a great year.”