By ROBERT L. LEE

MARRERO – Two quick swings of an aluminum bat, first gave the East St. Charles Post 366/195 Fighting Wild-cats momentum and hope of capturing their first lead, then buried them one last time under a mound of runs in their 8-3 loss Monday.

The Fighting Wildcats travelled to Archbishop Shaw High School and immediately found themselves struggling to deliver a hit and respond to the First Bank and Trust Eagles’ 2-0 first inning.

Neither team sent a runner across home plate in the second inning and through the third, the Fighting Wildcats could not send a runner past second base.

The Eagles posted their third run in the third inning, then the Fighting Wildcats responded.

The East St. Charles team opened the fourth inning with two singles, which set the stage for a Sean Bergeron triple. The sudden offensive spurt was capitalized when Beau Jones shot the ball to deep center field for a double, sending Bergeron home and evening the score at 3-3.

After easily loading the bases, the Eagles responded loud and clear with the sharp ping of the metal bat. With one out, they slipped a double down the left field line to clear their runners from all three bases and effectively double their score for a 6-3 lead.

With a runner now on second, a Fighting Wildcats’ bad pitch gave up a walk. Another loose pitch allowed the Eagles to shift their runners into scoring position on second and third. Another loose pitch opened the door for the two Eagles to fly from the bases and bump their lead up 8-3.

Offensively, the Fighting Wildcats were left with a blank look on their faces, runners stranded and two last scoreless innings.

Defensively, they managed to contain the Eagles from adding to their 11 hits.

“They (Eagles) have a lot of experience and we are young, but that’s not an excuse,” said head coach Marty Luquet.

He said the Eagles responded to their score, but the Fighting Wildcats couldn’t develop a response to the 8-3 lead.

“We teach our players to be aggressive on the field and today we hit some balls hard, but they ran them down,” he continued.

“We just have to play a little bit better,” added Luquet.

Only two of the eight seniors from the Fighting Wildcats’ record-setting team were eligible or opted to play the summer legion games, leaving the team young, but gaining on-field experience before the scenario begins in the regular season.