J. EDMUND BARNES

PHOTO 1: Darryl Slim’ Nicholas, left, watches as the Wallbangers try to rally in Monday’s game against Sternfels. (Staff photo by J. Edmund Barnes) PAULINA – This time there would be no delays. No rain, no lightning, no forces of nature to stop the St. James Parish Adult Softball League from finishing their championship game. The Wallbangers would face Sternfels, and then the winner of that contest would have to beat Louque’s Automotive twice. The Wallbangers and Sternfels were evenly matched but it was Sternfels that got off to an early lead. By the top of the fifth inning, the score was 9-5 in favor Sternfels. The bases were loaded when Hodge Thibodeaux stepped up to the plate. The resulting grand slam cranked the score up to 13-5 and put the pressure on the Wallbangers. But they stepped up to the challange, and stepped up to the plate swinging. The rally began with a three-run homer by Lucien Gauff in the bottom of the fifth, continued into the seventh inning as the score rose to 18-13, still in Sternfels’ favor. PHOTO 2: The 2001 St. James Parish Adult Softball League champions: Louques Automotive. (Staff Photo by J. Edmund Barnes) The Wallbangers needed five runs to tie the game, five runs the Wallbangers didn’t generate. The game ended with Sternfels winning by a score of 18-15. Lucien Gauff, the Wallbangers leading hitter, said, “We just didn’t play our game. Former New Orleans Saint and current Wallbanger Dalton Hilliard said: “We just didn’t hit the ball.” Hodge Thibodeaux of Sternfels said of his grand slam: “He just gave me a pitch I could drive.” With the win, Sternfels found themselves in the title game with the defending champions, Louque’s Automotive. The game got off to a slow start, as Louques denied Sternfels the early lead that they had enjoyed over the Wallbangers. By the third inning the score was tied at three runs apiece. But the fourth inning saw Sternfel’s pick up three more runs which Louques did not immediately answer. By the fifth inning, Sternfels’ lead had grown to 8-3, and tempers in the Louque’s dugout had begun to flare. But the bleeding stopped. The bottom of the fifth inning saw four runs scored on three hits, including a two-RBI homer by Cliff Henry. Louques held Sternfels scoreless in the top of the sixth inning, then went on to score the go-ahead run as well as an insurance run on two home runs. Mike Faucheux drove in the tying and winning runs, while Preston Roussel hit the insurance run, insurance which turned out to be unnecessary, as Louques held Sternfels scoreless again in the top of the seventh. Faucheux said: “It’s been a good year. I was just glad to be able to help my fellow River Parish buddies out. I also want to thank these guys for bringing me onto the team.” Cliff Henry said this gives Louques back to back championships and: “… if we come back next year, we’re looking to three-peat.”