CECILIA – The St. Charles Catholic High School Comets had a mission entering Cecilia Tuesday and they succeeded, surprisingly better than they expected. Head coach Paul Waguespack told his Comets to gain the early lead and make the Bulldogs believe they had no chance of winning.

“Four hits in a row kind of shocked them, it threw them out of the game,” said Waguespack about the Comets’ first inning 3-0 lead.

The Comets would score one more run and a total of eight hits and no errors for the final 4-0 regional playoff win.

Then came the added bonus. Pitcher Jeremy Catoire pitched a complete game was one pitch away from throwing a perfect game. Catoire’s only flaw came from a walk, following a full count in the first inning. Otherwise, he allowed no Bulldog hits and had 15 strike outs.

“I had all the confidence in the world he would throw the ball well and Catoire came hit off him. Who would have thought in the first inning he would pitch a no-hitter,” said Waguespack, who placed Catoire (5-0) in to take the total load of five playoff games off first string pitcher Jason Waguespack.

“I am trying to win five games and you can’t throw Waguespack every game in a two-week stretch.”

Waguespack said if the Comets win against Parkview Friday with Waguespack on the mound, Catoire will be right back up in the semifinals. Currently, he said the St. Charles team is doing what it has to do to win and the spot among the “elite eight is a compliment to the kids. People said we should have scored about six points, and we did have the opportunity to score more, but we came out like we needed to, which was to take the thought of winning out of their (Cecilia) head,” added Waguespack.

“You’ve got to give the kids all the credit, they’ve responded and been ready to play every time.”

The Comets’ response was tested Friday evening, when they battled top-ranked Parkview Baptist in Baton Rouge. Two days before the game, Waguespack said he had yet to see the Eagles play, but thought the Comets still had a healthy chance at victory.

“It’ll be a good ball game,” he said. “I’m excited for us and the kids to have a chance to play them. We will need some breaks, and if we don’t win I’ll know we played our best and did what we could. But I’m not going to lie, I think we are good enough to beat them.”