By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

RESERVE – As Riverside approached a week boasting its first matchup with District 10-2A archrival John Curtis, Lady Rebels coach Kristy Hebert couldn’t ask her team to be on more of a roll.

The Rebels ran their season-high winning streak to 11 straight, capturing a tournament sweep for the second straight week at the South Beauregard tournament.

Riverside defeated DeRidder, 6-0; Anacoco, 11-0;  Tioga, 8-4; and Mamou, 4-1 to move its record to 16-3 this season.

The tournament also extended Riverside’s run of facing elite opposition. DeRidder entered the tournament ranked fifth in Class 5A power points while Anacoco was ranked fourth in Class B. Tioga and Mamou would each be playoff qualifiers in Class 4A and 2A, respectively, if the postseason began today.

Riverside boasts six wins over teams in the Top 10 of their classification over the past two weeks (prior to Tuesday’s game at John Curtis, which was scheduled to be played after press time). Curtis and Riverside are the top two teams rated by Class 2A power points, and two of the top four teams in the state overall by that measure along with Class 5A Hahnville and St. Amant.

The win over DeRidder (18-3) was the highlight of the tourney for RA, however. The Rebels’ Taylor Terrio went 2 for 2 with an inside-the-park home run and two RBIs. Toni Hebert went 3 for 4 with an RBI. Destin Vicknair and Hailey Tassin were both 2 for 4 with an RBI, while Megan Stein collected a hit and RBI of her own.

Vicknair (15-3) started and earned the win on the mound, recording her second shutout of the tournament and her fourth over the past two tournaments. She struck out 11 while allowing five hits and walking three.

“We knew their pitcher likes to get on top of you early and then make you chase things out the zone. We were very disciplined and made her throw a lot of pitches,” said Hebert. “Our girls looked for that one pitch or took their walk.”

Against Anacoco (10-6), Erica Delaneuville went a perfect 3 of 3 at the plate for the Rebels while collecting an RBI. Vicknair went 2 for 4 with three RBIs. Stein went 3 for 4 with an RBI and Terrio Went 2 for 4 with an RBI.

Vicknair recorded another shutout, allowing five hits while striking out nine. She walked one.

The Anacoco game was an unexpected one for the Rebels, who arrived at South Beauregard expecting to play just three games.

“We found out they scheduled us to play four games … I was proud of the girls for staying focused. They knew we went up there to make ourselves better,” said Hebert. “I was actually glad to be able to play them. Anacoco’s a Class B school, but their pitcher is very good and was one of the best we faced there.”

Against Mamou (10-11), Carleigh Trosclair went 2 for 3. Terrio, Vicknair and Delaneuville each collected an RBI.

Vicknair struck out 11 batters, allowing three hits while walking two.

In the Tioga (9-11) game, Bailey led the way with a two-run home run. Tassin went 3 for 3 with three RBIs. Delaneuville went 2 for 3 with two RBIs. Hebert went 2 for 3.

Vicknair struck out her tournament high 13 batters while allowing three hits and three walks.

The home runs by Terrio and Bailey continued a power surge by the Rebels this season – Bailey’s cleared a 250 foot fence.

“Taylor hit it to the fence, and with her speed, obviously she’s gonna beat that out,” said Kristy Hebert. “Then Katie just hit it out and got it solid.”

She said that the team’s early season home run surge, however, was leading to some bad habits. The Rebels’ hitting success at the South Beauregard tournament was a sign that the team’s bats are back on track.

“After we hit a bunch out early, I think the girls were kind of looking to see who’d hit one out next and it started affecting their swings. I had to reel them in a little, around the time of the Lutcher tournament. We needed to focus on looking for the base hit and not just swinging for the fences. Our hitting was on track this weekend, and some of our girls who had been struggling really broke through.”

Vicknair averaged over 10 strikeouts for the second straight tournament, this time racking up 44 in four games.

Hebert credits much of the senior’s improvement, coupled with the increased power productivity from the Rebel lineup, to the work the players have put into the Rebels strength and conditioning program since the summer.

“The weight training program that coach (Bill) Stubbs, coach (Chris) Lachney and coach (Mike) Sutton started for them … they’ve continued it throughout the school year,” she said. “They’re stronger and faster … The biggest benefit, I feel, for Destin is she’s improved her throwing speed and accuracy. It’s made a difference.”