By RYAN ARENA
L’Observateur

After two games and 18 innings Tuesday, St. Charles Catholic-based Townsend Homes had earned a split, leaving Hahnville with the knowledge that it might have to win one more game to advance to the Southeast Regional.
As it turned out, Townsend wouldn’t have to play again. The team is moving on from the Second District playoffs, a 5-3 victory over Destrehan-based Shell Motiva providing the way.
Townsend fell 5-3 to Hahnville-based Otto Candies Tuesday after its district tournament-opening victory. Otto Candies went on to defeat Shell Wednesday, eliminating Shell from the double-elimination competition. Had Shell won, it would have faced Townsend to determine who would advance along with Otto Candies.
Townsend Homes began the summer 3-6, but moves on to the regional with a record of 8-7-1, winners of five of its last six. The win over Shell was the team’s second in the past two weeks.
The teams were tied 2-2 entering the ninth inning when Townsend scored three runs to take control. Austin Weber, Colin Bosco and Mason Bordelon each drove in runs to push Townsend on to the win.
B.J. Waguespack picked up the win in relief for Townsend. Mason Bordelon started the game and went 7.1 effective innings.
“We score three in the ninth and found a way to come out of here with a win,” said Townsend coach Wayne Stein. “I’m very proud of the way this team played, not just in the win, but over two nine-inning games back-to-back. They competed every inning.”
Otto Candies, the first seed of the Second District, had to win just once to advance. It did that with its victory over Townsend, taking a 5-0 lead and holding off a late Townsend surge to win.
Brooks Vial went seven innings, allowing three runs on three hits and five walks. The All-State lefthander struck out eight en route to earning the win. Tyler Lamers earned the save after a scoreless ninth.
Vial cruised early, allowing just one hit and one run over his first six innings. But he perhaps began to tire in the seventh, and Townsend made a move after Zack Roussel and Brandon Klibert walked and Kameron Keller singled to load the bases. With two outs, Austin Weber cranked a single to right that plated two runs, making it 5-3.
Townsend looked for a repeat performance in the 8th after again loading the bases with one out, this time on three consecutive singles by Mason Bordelon, Connor Western and Jon Brown. But reliever Jared Louque pitched himself out of the jam, getting groundball and fly ball outs respectively to end the inning. Townsend wouldn’t challenge again, putting just one on in the ninth via an error.
Todd Porche put Otto Candies ahead 1-0 in the first inning on an RBI single. Dylan Keller’s RBI single in the second made it 2-0, while Vial’s groundout RBI pushed the lead to 3-0. Otto Candies scored its final two runs on a pair of fifth inning errors.
“You can’t give that team extra outs,” said Stein. “We made some costly mistakes.”
Dylan Keller finished 3 for 5 with two doubles to lead Otto Candies at the plate.
“We took batting practice today, focusing not just on hitting it hard, but making our at-bats count,” said Keller. “It was difficult facing so many different pitchers, but all you do at that point is focus on each individual pitch.”
Connor Smith started for Townsend and took the loss. He combined with Colin Bosco, Zack Roussel, B.J. Waguespack and Jon Brown as Townsend went with a committee approach on the mound.