By ROBERT L. LEE

LAPLACE – The St. Charles Catholic Comets made Monday’s game against Ridgewood seem rather easy, by swiftly scoring a 12-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning. With a four-day holiday break scheduled prior to this game, head coach Paul Waguespack said he knew beforehand the Comets would need to use this game almost as practice time to prepare for their upcoming task at hand. The Comets will enter another round of competition with foes Lutcher, E.D. White and St. James, beginning tomorrow at Lutcher.

However, Waguespack admitted he did not imagine Monday’s win would be a calm 17-0 victory over the Eagles. The game continued through to the top of the fifth inning, although the Eagles never managed to gain a single hit. Ridgewood’s trips to first base via walks could be counted on one hand, while the Comets’ scores via walks accounted for almost half of their points. The Comets’ amassed their tally by singles and doubles which allowed two runners to score at six different times, with the walked-in points coming every other time.

The Comets seemed satisfied with their 12-point lead in the third inning, but drove home another seven runs in the bottom of the fourth to build on their unsurmountable lead.

“They don’t come much easier than this,” said Waguespack. One of the reasons accompanying the giveaway win was the Eagles’ 7-11 record, which stems from their youth. The Eagles’ team is compiled of three juniors, leading a host of sophomores and freshmen.

“They’re a young team and they’re taking some lumps,” Waguespack continued. “The second guy they had throwing did well, but had trouble throwing strikes. This win was easier than I wanted it to be.”

While the Eagles were having problems throwing strikes, the Comets were using a new pitcher for each inning, just to get some extra work in. The extra work accounted for 10 strike outs after 15 batters and no hits. In comparison, the Comets’ 17 points landed on the scoreboard after 11 hits.

The first three Eagle batters to open the first inning all connected for short ground balls, which the Comets scooped up and threw to first base for the out. Jason Waguespack was the first Comet to take the mound and the three quick outs gave him one of the shortest stints of the five pitchers.

The Comets received two opening walks to place runners on first and second bases. Waguespack delivered a high hit just past second base that was caught for an out, but Jeremy Triche followed with low shot to left field for the first hit of the game. With the bases loaded, Randy Madere stepped up. A wild pitch allowed Matt Boucvalt to leave third base for the first point, before Madere moved to first base a few pitches later on a walk. Jason Rauch continued the lineup and made a sharp ground hit to the right field wall, which opened the door to empty the bases for a 4-0 lead. However, the first inning came to a close when Rauch tried to stretch the hit into a triple and was tagged out at third.

St. Charles’ Chris Cancienne was next to take the mound and allowed one batter to reach first base, before striking out the next two Eagles. A tag at first base stopped the next Eagle and spelled their third out.

The Comets set the bases loaded for the third time of the game, until Waguespack pounded the ball to the center field wall, sending two teammates home for the 6-0 lead. With two runners on base, Triche was handed a walk, followed immediately by Madere, which pushed another Comet off third to trot home to score.

The Eagles switched pitchers and were thanked by Cancienne who completed the same scenario as Wag-uespack by bouncing a hit off the center field wall and bumping the score up two points, 9-0. Yet again, the Comets filled the three bases when Rauch was given a walk. Madere got his chance to score from third, when another pitch slipped past the catcher. Two more Comet runners scored seconds later, when Andrew Revall connected for a single.

The third inning saw Trey Malain holding the mound for the Comets and continuing his team’s no-hitter streak. The Comets refrained from scoring through the bottom of the third inning, then returned to defense in the fourth with Jeremy Catoire on the mound. Ridgewood had two batters up and two down and one walk stranded on first base before the third out closed their chance. The Comets returned where they left off in the second inning, by hitting two doubles and a single for a total five points in the bottom of the fourth. Derrick Gaubert finished the Comets’ pitching rotation with his visit to the mound in the fifth and final inning.

“That five pitchers can come out with no hitters, I haven’t ever been involved in something like that,” said Waguespack.