By RYAN ARENA

Sports Editor

There was one obvious difference between Sunday’s Sugar Cane league championship game and the late regular season meeting between the River Parish Hawks and Delise (MS).

Allow Hawks Coach Gary Anderson to describe it.

“On Sunday,” he said, “We hit the ball.”

And how.

After losing to Delise less than a month ago, the Hawks clinched their second Sugar Cane title in the past three seasons with a 24-14 victory at Delise.

Thaurn Anderson led the way, going 4-for-6 with seven RBIs. Ronald August held the big Delise bats scoreless for the first five innings, and lasted through the seventh, striking out five batters.

Gary Anderson, who coached the Hawks (16-2) in their previous title run, said that many of the team members planned on walking away after the 2007 season.

“Everyone was ready to give it up. It’s hard when you have jobs and other priorities to continue to play,” said the coach, who brought as few as nine players to certain games this season.

But after the Hawks lost in the finals, another run was in the cards.

“We decided that we weren’t going to go out like that,” he said.

Brandon Mason, Romell Anthony, and Rondon Anderson each hit home runs in the win. Anthony and Rondon Anderson each had three RBIs.

Eric Brown and Mason each collected three hits in the game.

When August left the game before the eighth inning, the score sat at 13-4.

But while Gary Anderson knew Delise brought some big bats to the game, he knew the lead was in good hands.

“Their big guys were coming up with nobody on base,” he said. “They hit some home runs, but nobody was on. We were able to limit them.”

It isn’t yet known who will be back in 2009 to pursue a third crown. But regardless, the coach says that his team made 2008 a positive experience all the way through – with one big exclamation point at the end.

“These are all guys who know how to play. There are no hard heads in the group,” he said. “They’re talented. They listen, and they want to be coached.”