Young Comets only squad to finish games as Legion postponed again due to bad weather

BY DAVID FOLSE II

Sports Editor

LUTCHER-Ernie Banks used to say let’s play two.

St. Charles Catholic and Lutcher tried, but there was just not enough sunlight.

Hoping to play two games Thursday afternoon, the Comets and Bulldogs were only able to get in one and the beginning of another.

St. Charles Catholic fell in the first game, 6-5. However, the Comets were leading game two, 6-0 before it was called on account of darkness.

Devin Snyder took the loss in the first game for the Comets, giving up one run in only an inning and two-thirds of relief.

Outfielders Jordan Millet and Matt Walters had solid nights at the plate for the Comets as Millet went 2-2 with a pair of runs driven in and Walters went 1-3 at the plate with a run driven in.

Jumping out to an early 1-0 lead, the Comets fell behind 5-2 in the bottom of the second inning. Tying the game at 5 in the top of the fifth inning, the Comets would give up the game-winning run in the bottom of the fifth to a scrappy Lutcher squad.

St. Charles Catholic metro squad coach Wayne Stein said his team did play well, but were not able to shut the Bulldogs when the absolutely needed to.

“We play metro games to give our younger guys experience,” Stein said. “That is why we try to schedule so many games and that we have two teams. Unfortunately it did not work out that we were able to allow both teams to play, but I was happy to see us in the first game battle back the way that we did. That is always a great thing to see out of young kids that have not been in your program for a long time.

“In these games, it is not so much about wins and it is not so much about the losses. Obviously you go out there and compete to win.”

With so many players, Stein said one of his main concerns is getting everyone into action.

“One thing that we definitely try to do is make sure that everyone has a part in the game,” Stein said. “Not necessarily an at-bat or an inning in the field, but to give them an opportunity to say that they contributed to the outcome of the game.

“In the bottom of the fifth against Lutcher we got into some trouble, but we battled. We were able to get two outs, but Lutcher was able to come up with a clutch hit. Lutcher is a good program and programs like that have kids like we do that want to come up big in the clutch. They constructed that run, they did whatever they had to do to come away with the win. We are definitely proud of our kids for fighting.”

Stein does agree that the metro summer league serves as an invaluable tool for evaluating the future of your baseball program.

“One thing that I can definitely say about metro and legion is that it gives you a chance to evaluate talent. Unfortunately, this is really where you make or break yourselves as an athlete. This is where the coaching staff really gets a chance to see you and what kind of player you really are.

“When December and the prep season rolls around, you are obviously going to get up to get your varsity ready. You have to do whatever it takes to get the guys who are going to lead you to a winning season as much work as possible. So sometimes those younger guys kind of get left out. That is where metro comes in. It gives those younger kids the chance to shine and show the coaching staff that they earned the opportunity to play in the fall. We use it as a valuable evaluation tool.”

NOTE: Cretin Homes’ game West Jefferson-based Ray Brandt Nissan was posponed again and will be made up at a time if needed and if the game’s outcome would affect the final standings in the district.