LAPLACE — The St. Charles Catholic Comets narrowly advanced past a three-game regional competition against Vandebilt Catholic to secure a spot in the LHSAA baseball quarterfinals.

Nick Roberts dominated at the mound during Friday’s game, pitching a one-hitter to earn a 5-0 win.

Vandebilt Catholic fought back Saturday morning, stealing three runs in the bottom of the seventh to top the Comets 7-6.

Saturday afternoon’s deciding game remained a nail-biter until the ninth inning, when Nick Lorio hit a walk-off home run for a 6-5 win.

Head coach Wayne Stein said the Comets are in for a challenge this weekend during a best-of-three battle against back-to-back defending champion Teurlings Catholic.

Game 1 starts at 7 p.m. Friday in Lafayette. A second game is slated for 1 p.m. Saturday, potentially followed by a third game at 4 p.m.

Riverside Academy

For the second year in a row, the Riverside Academy Rebels are slated to face Catholic High – New Iberia in the LHSAA quarterfinals.

Head coach Frank Cazeaux is eager to repeat history with another win, but he said outplaying the Panthers won’t be easy.

“They have a majority of their team back, and they’re very athletic,” Cazeaux said. “It’s going to be a challenge, but I think we’re up to the task.”

The first of three road games plays out at 5 p.m. Friday in New Iberia, followed by game two at 1 p.m. on Saturday. A potential deciding game would take place at 4 p.m.

This past weekend, Jordan Loving and Austin Becnel provided strong pitching to secure 2-1 and 5-1 wins over Episcopal.

Cazeaux said Loving helped out in the win Friday with a two-out double.

West St. John

The West St. John Rams baseball team struggled to find the strike zone against powerhouse Grand Lake, leading to a 13-3 loss Monday evening.

Pitching has been the Achilles heel of the team all season, according to head coach Greg Joseph. During Monday’s regional playoff game in Lake Charles, the Rams walked six players and hit seven.

“I’m not going to make excuses,” Joseph said.

“Next season, we need to get the kids to do a better job throwing strikes and being mentally prepared.”

The loss does not lessen the impact of a successful season, Joseph said, adding the Rams demonstrated marked improvement from past years.

During the team’s bi-district playoff game against Ringgold, Colbert Jackson, Kylan Duhe, Jaydon Hamilton and Niko Roy showed strength at the plate, driving in runs during an 8-7 win.

Alyjah Borne pitched for seven innings and finished strong against Ringgold.