St. John powerhouse baseball teams compose potent all-star team

By JOHNNY PEPPO

Sports Editor

With four different teams from St. John the Baptist Parish in the softball and baseball state finals this season, including a state champ and a state runner-up squad, an all-star team wasn’t hard to find.

But with all of that talent, it was incredibly hard to narrow it down.

Starting with baseball, St. John Parish had the state champs as well as a semi-finalist team that was just outs away from the title game. The All-L’Observateur team that represents the best of what local baseball had to offer will be composed of players just from these two dominant teams. With Riverside and St. Charles fielding two of the biggest names in the state when it came to the diamond this year, the Rebels and Comets had enough clutch players to form a small college team. Picking a starter on the mound for the L’Observateur squad is a toss up. With Jonathan Giroir, Jordan Porrier and Cavin Richmond heading up the pitching staff on the state title team for the Rebels, and Stephen Duhe, B.J. Cancienne and Michael Oncale leading the Comets to a perfect 12-0 for the 10-2A district championship, there’s more depth in this position than in the ocean. SCC’s Oncale gets the nod on this team as the ace since his team swept the Rebs in district play. Porrier goes as the alternate and Cancienne takes the first relief spot ahead of saver Giroir.

Behind the plate, Riverside’s Chase Emerson gets the call as his heady play and timely hits were often vital to the Rebels success. The Comet’s Chris Waguespack couldn’t run any closer to winning the starting role though. To round out the infield, Matt Heltz (SCC) starts on first, A.J. Delauneville (RA) is on second, _____ holds down the shortstop position and ______ plays the field from third. Each of the players that compose this infield provides balance both defensively and offensively. They also have the skills and all-around athleticism to exchange positions as needed for specific situations. Alternates here would be ______, _____ and _____.

As for the outfield, Lee Haydel (RA), Jared Nowell (SCC) and Kyle Olasin (SCC) get the starting spots. Those three have all of the speed and savvy to cover more ground than a tarp during a rainout. There’s no shortage of hitting here either as the three of them were among the most prolific hitters in Class 2A.

As for the coach of this star-studded team, it’s just not fair to pick one. While SCC’s Paul Waguespack won each meeting between the two teams, it was RA’s Steve Stropolo who got his team back into the title game without coming up short. Weighing the pros and consŠ it’s a toss-up. It would be tempting to say that Stropolo wins it on the weight of bringing home the big win, but Waguespack’s team weakened the defending champ Ouachita Christian Eagle’s pitching staff just prior to the last game of the season. If they’re gracious enough to share the co-honors, so be it. If not, well, there’s always a coin toss. But either way, you can’t call anyone here a loser.