By GEORGE MAHL

LUTCHER – Lutcher High School Bulldogs starting pitcher Bryce Matherne only threw one inning. Normally, if a pitcher gets pulled early in a game its a sign that he is struggling. However, that was not the case with Matherne Tuesday afternoon.

“Bryce’s arm was bothering him,” said Lutcher head coach Scott Tribble. ” He had not pitched since last Tuesday.”

The way the Bulldogs were swinging the bat, it didn’t matter who their starting pitcher was. Jonathan Oubre’s 3 for 3 performance elevated the Bulldogs to an impressive 13-3 victory over South Terrebonne High School Tuesday afternoon at Bulldog Park. The game was called in the bottom of the fifth due to the 10-run mercy rule.

“I think one of the reasons we hit well today was because we were ahead of a lot of their pitchers,” said Tribble.

Leading 2-1 in the bottom of the second, the Bulldogs put five runs on the board. Oubre started things off with a single and later advanced to third because of two consecutive walks.

Justin Beasley then got up and smashed a single to right scoring Oubre and Jordie Perrilloux, thus making the score 4-1. With two outs in the inning, Jeremy Roper got up and nailed a single driving in Beasley and Cody Hoover. A solo homerun to right field courtesy of Randy Waguespack expanded the Lutcher lead to 7-1.

In the top of the fifth, the Gators, a 4A school, began to mount a comeback. Christian Parker and Cody Blanchard both walked to lead off the inning and later scored on Dusty Scott’s single to center.

Heading into the bottom of the fifth, LHS held an 8-3 lead.

Another five runs in the bottom of the fifth, gave Lutcher a commanding 13-3 lead. The big blow in the inning came off the bat of Josh Troxclair. His double to left scored Blake Louque and Perrilloux, both of whom reached base on an error.

The lone lead in the game the Gators had evaporated quickly. STHS lead-off hitter Mike Duplantis singled and scored on a passed ball courtesy of Matherne. This gave the Gators an early 1-0 lead. However, Roper quickly responded with the bottom of the first with a lead off homerun to left.

“Jeremy got us going right at the start. We took advantage of the opportunities they gave us,” Tribble said.

LHS starter Matt Roussel pitched four innings giving up two runs on three hits.

“Matt is a sophomore and sometimes he can be inconsistent. But, he’s got what it takes to get the job done,” Tribble explained.