By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

RESERVE — For the Riverside Rebels baseball team, reaching the quarterfinals and bowing out had become a tired narrative, one repeated over each of the three seasons preceding the 2012 campaign.

But this edition of the Rebels had a special season in store.

Riverside marched to the Class 2A state championship game, along the way downing a dominant top seed in Evangel, and finished as a state runner up after a close 3-1 loss to Calvary Baptist.

Some tremendous performances fueled that run, and those performances are recognized on L’Observateur’s All-St. John Parish baseball team, led by its MVP, pitcher/first baseman Tate Scioneaux.

Scioneaux was nearly untouchable this season on the mound. He maintained a 0.55 ERA, with 120 strikeouts in 91 innings. He went 10-3, four of those wins coming in the postseason, and one of them more memorable than the rest — his complete game two-hitter in the state semifinals against an Evangel team that had scored 82 runs in its previous six games cemented his legacy at the school.

At the plate, he hit .450 with six home runs, 40 RBIs and a .520 on-base percentage.

Riverside coach Matt White earns St. John Coach of the Year honors after leading Riverside on its run to the state title game, a run that came in just White’s second year with the Rebels as head coach. Riverside finished 25-10 this season and peaked at season’s end, winning 16 of its final 19 games.

Joining them are two more Rebels, centerfielder Grady Gieger (.440 BA, five home runs) and catcher C.J. Edler (.500 OBP), both keys to the title run.

St. Charles Catholic, meanwhile, had another sensational season. The Comets entered the Class 3A postseason as its No. 2 seed, a spot earned after SCC went on a 22-2-1 tear to end the regular season, one that followed a five-game losing streak that dropped it to 3-5.

Four Comets earn a spot on the team this season: Chad McNeil (.375 BA, 41 RBIs, 8-1 pitching record), Brandon Zimmer (.370 BA, 23 RBIs, .500 OBP), Austin Weber (.411 BA, 38 runs scored) and Donnie Savoie (.375, 32 runs)

West St. John made some big strides this season, returning to the playoffs and posting a 12-7 overall record. Jarius Moll and Dontre Turner helped lead them there and earn spots on the team after hitting .405 and .398 respectively.

East St. John also sees two players earn spots in senior Ashton Lewis and junior Daniel Franklin.

Each hit over .400 this season and co-led the Wildcats in RBIs.