By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

 

METAIRIE — The summertime charge of Hahnville-based Otto Candies finally came to an end on Sunday.

And it did so in wild fashion: the team was upended by Columbia Post 19, the Tennessee American Legion state champion, 12-11 in a marathon 15-inning game at the Legion Mid-South Regional tournament at Jesuit’s John Ryan Stadium.

The game set a record as the longest game in American Legion postseason history.

The loss was the second of the double-elimination tourney for Otto Candies (24-15), which finished 2-2 at the tourney. A win would have meant a berth in the Mid-South championship against Jesuit-based Retif, a pairing of the two Louisiana teams in the regional. Retif went on to win the tournament over Columbia, 2-1, on Monday.

While Otto Candies coach David Baudry would have loved to see his team continue to advance and win, he couldn’t express disappointment in a summer that just continued to build momentum from prep season: Hahnville rode an 18-game win streak into its eventual quarterfinal loss to Barbe.

“I think this group has seen just what it means to play all out, and what they can accomplish when they do that,” said Baudry, whose team faced four Legion state champions at the Mid-South regional. “They showed the kind of competitive edge that can only lead to good things going forward.”

Columbia’s Austin Bryant’s RBI single in the bottom of the 15^th was the game-sealing hit.

Columbia (35-16) led 5-0 after two innings and 11-6 after six. But Otto Candies clawed back and tied the game with four runs in the seventh inning and then one more in the eighth.

“We just ran out of gas,” said Baudry. “We actually played better defensively as the game went on after a bad start. But we had 17 hits, and I’m not sure that any of those came in the final five innings.

“We fought our way back twice, but we couldn’t get that big hit late to push us over the top.”

Ty Cologne went 4 for 7 with four runs scored and Mike Ford went 4 for 8 with three RBIs. Cody Farrell, Travis Faucheaux and Connor Lorio each banked three RBIs.

Brooks Vial came on in relief of starting pitcher Zach Calhoun and went 10 innings. He allowed five runs on seven hits and three walks, but none of the runs were earned; Otto Candies committed six errors on the game.

Seth Staggs earned the win in relief for Columbia, pitching three innings and allowing just one hit. Tyler Simmons took the loss for Otto Candies.

Heath Slatton led Columbia at the plate, going 3 for 7 with three RBIs.

 

RETIF OIL 12, OTTO CANDIES 2 — Jesuit-based Retif moved toward an eventual berth in the Mid-South championship game to face Tennessee via a 12-2 win over Otto Candies in eight innings Saturday.

Retif starter Jonathan Hess pitched five innings of one hit ball, two run ball to earn the win. Corey Avard pitched three scoreless innings in relief.

With Hess rolling early, Retif landed its knockout blow in the third inning, scoring four runs to extend a 3-0 lead to 7-0.

Cleanup hitter Matthieu Robert led off with a double to deep left field, setting up Luke Voiron’s RBI double to right. With one out, Michael Gogreve socked an RBI single to make it 5-0. Matthew Braud bunted for a single, then stole second. Armand Daigle singled home the game’s sixth run, though Otto Candies caught him trying to extend his base hit into a double. Mitchell Alexander followed up with a single to center, which chased Otto starter Cody Farrell from the game.

Otto Candies fell behind 8-0 before starting to make a push back in the sixth inning. Tyler Simmons and Farrell each drew walks from Hess, who then hit Mike Ford to load the bases. Retif coach Joey Latino called to his bullpen, bringing on Corey Avard  to face Connor Lorio; Retif turned a double-play on a ground ball by Lorio, but Simmons scored to make it 8-1. Tyler Lamers followed with an RBI single to make it 8-2.

“We had a chance to get back in it,” said Baudry. “We really needed to score four runs there to have a chance, had to cut it in half when we had the opportunity.”

But a potential rally was stymied for good in the seventh inning, when Anthony Fortier-Benson singled with the bases loaded; he collected an RBI, then two more runs scored on an error. Retif scored its final run in the eighth when Daigle drew a based-loaded walk.

OTTO CANDIES 2, MISSISSIPPI 1 — Tyler Lamers pitched a complete game to earn victory as Otto Candies won its second game of the Mid-South Regional Friday.

Lamers allowed seven hits, walked three and struck out six.

He outdueled Mississippi starter Tyler Simmons, who allowed eight hits and walked three over eight complete innings. He struck out five.

Lamers and Farrell each collected two hits in the game. Ty Cologne knocked in both Otto Candies runs, the second the game-winner in the fourth inning, scored by Dylan Keller.