By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

SULPHUR — Riverside came as close as anyone this season to upending undefeated John Curtis in Saturday’s Class 2A semifinal game.

But in the end, a two-RBI single by the Patriots’ Rachel Brockhaus in the bottom of the sixth inning proved the difference as Curtis defeated Riverside to advance, 4-3, to the Class 2A championship game.

Curtis went on to defeat Evangel, 2-0, to capture the Class 2A crown and finish with a perfect record of 24-0.

Brockhaus’ hit came with two outs in the sixth, singling through the left side of the infield with runners on second and third. She collected all four RBIs for Curtis.

“Rachel did what she does, what she’s done all year,” said Curtis coach Jerry Godfrey.

Said Riverside coach Kristy Hebert, “I really can’t say we could have done anything differently. They came through in the spot they had to with two outs … It was a hard-fought game between two great teams, and somebody has to win.”

A single earlier in the inning by Casey Corcoran broke up a string of 13 straight retired batters by Riverside pitcher Destin Vicknair, who allowed just four hits and one walk in the game. She struck out seven.

Riverside (24-9) has finished as a state semifinalist in two consecutive seasons. It was a quarterfinalist in 2010.

Vicknair came through in a major way with her bat, lifting the Rebels to a 3-2 lead in the third inning after a bases-loaded triple.

The Rebels trailed 2-0 in the third when Kori Bourgeois drew a walk to lead off the Rebel rally. Hailey Tassin reached on an error and Caitlin Roussel singled on a bunt to load the bases with no outs.

Curtis pitcher Katie Brignac got Taylor Terrio to pop up and Toni Hebert to ground into a fielder’s choice at home, but Vicknair smashed a double to the outfield to send the Rebel dugout into a frenzy.

“We made a couple of fielding mistakes to get in that situation,” said Godfrey. “Vicknair hadn’t hit us too hard this year up to that point, but she came through and gave them a spark.”

The Patriots jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first on a two out single grounded up the middle by Brockhaus. Brooke Lee and Corcoran led off the inning with consecutive singles.

“I’m proud of the girls,” said Hebert. “After going down 2-0, they could have packed it in. But they hung in and fought, and we were in a good position late.”

Brignac allowed just two hits on the day and walked one. She struck out four.

It was Curtis’ third win of the year over Riverside. The two are District 10-2A rivals.

Riverside will bring back its entire lineup next season, as the Rebels have no seniors.

“I’m happy that we’ll have another shot with this group,” said Hebert. “But I’m just tired of saying ‘next year’. Hopefully next year will be our turn.”

 

RIVERSIDE 5, IOTA 0 — Destin Vicknair tossed a two-hit shutout and Riverside scored four early runs to best Iota in Friday’s quarterfinal game.

Vicknair dominated, striking out 11. She walked no batters.

Taylor Terrio went 3-for-4 to lead the Rebel batters.

RA scored one run in the first on a Vicknair single, and then four in the third. Two came on an error and one more on an RBI single by Megan Stein. Caitlin Roussel drove in the Rebels’ fifth in the sixth.

“Everyone was a little nervous, but it went away after the first inning,” said Vicknair. “Everything seemed to be working. We knew we had to shut them down early and not let them gain any confidence.”

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