By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

RESERVE – Local foes Riverside, St. Charles Catholic and Lutcher all competed at this past weekend’s Fatty’s Invitational tournament at Riverside.

The Bulldogs swept its two rivals, while the Comets split and took a victory over Thibodaux. The Rebels fell to each of the three teams.

The tournament concluded Sunday with a 14-4 St. Charles win over Riverside in which the Comets both started and finished on a high note. SCC led 7-2 after two innings, then scored six in the fifth to close out the Rebels by the 10-run rule.

“After the loss to Lutcher, we bounced back and got 18 hits against Riverside. So for that, you’ve got to be happy,” said SCC coach Paul Waguespack. “We were disappointed in the loss to Lutcher, but we’re pretty pleased with where we are at the moment.”

SCC’s Brady Hitt was 3-for-3 with a home run, his third of the weekend. Hitt (1-0) also picked up the win on the mound. He finished the weekend 7-for-9 with three home runs and six runs scored.

Marc Picciola was 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs for St. Charles (9-3). Brandon Becker was 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs. Becker was 6-for-12 with 5 RBIs on the weekend.

Jake Roussel led Riverside (2-9) at the plate with a triple and an RBI. Austin Vicknair tripled and scored a run.

That performance for SCC followed an 8-5 loss to Lutcher in which Waguespack said his team ultimately couldn’t overcome a sluggish start.

The Bulldogs led 5-0 at one point before the Comets rallied to tie the game with a four-run fifth. SCC had turned a triple play in the top half of that inning to keep things in reach.

“We preach to hit those ground balls, because anyone can catch a fly ball,” said Waguespack. “We hit one on the ground and they make an error. Then we draw a few walks and string together some hits, and we’re right there.”

But in the sixth, Gavin Webster blasted a two-out solo home run that put what turned out to be the deciding run on the board. Lutcher tacked on two more in the seventh.

“He capitalized on a bad pitch,” said Waguespack. “And he hit it a ton, a stand there and admire it kind of shot.”

Dustin Roper took the decision on the mound for Lutcher over SCC’s Henri Faucheux.

SCC opened the tournament on Friday with a 12-1 win over Thibodaux in which the Comets scored 11 runs in their last three innings of play.

Jared Keating (2-1) notched the win, throwing a complete game and allowing five hits. He struck out six and walked one. Over his last 13 innings, Keating has struck out 18, walked two and allowed just one run.

Riverside fell 14-7 to Lutcher on Saturday in a game that the Bulldogs scored two runs or more in five innings.

Austin Roussel went 3-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs. Jared Poche was 3-for-4 with two RBIs, and Adam Michel was 3-for-5 with two RBIs for Lutcher.

Riverside countered with a 3-for-3, home run and three RBI effort from Bryant Tassin. Chase Bazile was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a home run. Vicknair also homered and went 2-for-3.

Roussel nabbed the win for Lutcher on the mound. Dylan Martin took the loss.

In the tourney’s first game, Thibodaux pulled away from the Rebels late, 5-1.

Ritchie Terrio was 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI. Bazile also went 2-for-3.

“I thought we played pretty well for the most part this weekend,” said Riverside coach Britt Waguespack. “We cut down our strikeouts tremendously.

“We drew more walks. The things we’ve been preaching needed improvement, we did that. So there were definite positives to take from this.”

Waguespack said the slow start by Riverside isn’t stirring panic, in large part because the team has been here before — against a similar rough schedule early in 2009, the Rebels built a similar record, then recovered and made a run to the Class 2A quarterfinals.

“This team has a lot of character,” said Waguespack. “Right now, we’re just waiting for the big thing to pop open for us. I know it’s coming, and they know it’s coming.”