By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

RESERVE — Riverside’s harbored championship hopes all season, hopes reinforced by the knowledge that once the playoffs began, the Rebels had one very large hammer to swing in pitching ace Tate Scioneaux.

That hammer showed the kind of damage it can inflict on Tuesday.

Scioneaux was perfect through his first 6.1 innings in the Rebels’ 4-2 Class 2A regional round victory at Sterlington, helping Riverside advance to the state quarterfinals.

The fourth-seeded Rebels (23-9) will host No. 13 Menard (20-9) next round in Reserve. Menard defeated John Curtis, 4-3, in the regional round.

Scioneaux finished the game, pitching all seven innings and striking out 11 batters. He allowed two hits, two earned runs and a walk.

“He had his good stuff today,” said Riverside coach Matt White. “It was a pitcher’s duel out there, and his effort was unbelievable.

“It was a fantastic team effort today. The kids were excited to get out on a road trip and be in baseball mode all day, and they fed off of one another.”

The senior right-hander allowed a double and a triple, walking a batter in the middle, in the seventh, but shook it off to strike out the final two batters of the game.

White said that assistant coach Barrett Morgan went to the mound to talk to Scioneaux after the Menard push at the beginning of the seventh.

“We didn’t talk about it, but it was no secret that he had a perfect game going. I think the double rattled his cage a bit,” said White. “Coach Barrett went out there to calm him down and Tate got back to himself and took care of business.”

Andre Faucheux led Riverside at the plate, going 2-for-3 with an RBI and run scored. Wren Vicknair was 1-for-2, scored a run and had an RBI, and Dustin Madere was 1-for-3 with a run scored.

Riverside got on the board in the first inning on Vicknair’s sacrifice fly. C.J. Edler and Scioneaux each reached before Vicknair to set it up.

In the second inning, Faucheux and Madere each singled to lead off and set up a two run inning. RA scored on a passed ball and a C.J. Edler RBI groundout. The Rebels tacked on an insurance run in the sixth.

“We told the guys beforehand, if we can come out early and score a few, and let Tate do his deal, it’ll put a lot of pressure on them,” said White.

Last season, Riverside reached the 2A quarterfinals, but had to travel to face top-seeded Evangel and were eliminated.

But this time, the opposition comes to them.

“We get (Menard) at our place, and its for the right to go to state,” said White. “We’re expecting a big crowd … the atmosphere should be electric.”

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