After a 13-3 loss to Retif Oil in their American Legion State Tournament opener Friday, the Crowley Millers looked as if they had finally caught the break they need in their elimination game Saturday afternoon at Kirsch Rooney Stadium.
The Millers scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth to take a 2-1 lead over Destrehan’s ES&H and were on the verge of picking up their first state tournament victory in recent memory.
And then the wheels fell off.
After logging a pair of quick outs in the top of the seventh inning, a walk and a single gave Destrehan some momentum. An errant throw on a ground ball to shortstop allowed ES&H to tie the game and eventually push across the winning run two batters later in a 3-2 thriller.
“We didn’t make many errors this weekend, but when we did, they came at critical points of the game,” said Millers’ coach Chris Quebedeaux, whose team finished the summer at 9-4. “There are no slouches when you get to this point and you have to close out games when you have the chance.
“We caught a break in the sixth inning to take the lead and then we gave it right back to them.”
The Millers had just one hit off ES&H starter T.J. Thomas entering the sixth frame before finally cracking the scoreboard.
Hunter Meche worked a one-out walk and advanced to second on Nick Zeman’s bunt down the third base line. Austin Manuel then delivered an RBI double down the left field line to tie the game at 1-1.
The Millers took their only lead of the game two batters later when Tristan Miller’s ground ball to second base was misplayed, allowing Manuel to score.
After losing the lead in the top of the seventh, the Millers still had a chance to win the game in their half of the frame.
Austyn Benoit recorded a one-out single in the seventh and Deven Mouton drew a walk. After Meche moved the runners over with a ground out to the mound, Zeman was intentionally walked to load the bases.
The potential rally was thwarted after that when Manuel grounded out to first base to end the game.
ES&H got on the board in the third inning when Thomas singled to start the frame and eventually crossed the plate on grounder to the right side of the mound following another miscue at shortstop.
Brett Spell suffered the loss despite giving up just one earned run. He scattered five hits, walked four and struck out eight.
“Brett did a phenomenal job on the mound and he deserved to get the win,” said Quebedeaux. “He pitched his tail off against a really good team. We just didn’t make the plays behind him when we needed to.”
The Millers’ offense also struggled. The locals finished with just three hits and they stranded eight runners stranded.
“We just couldn’t find the holes,” said Quebedeaux. “We really put some good swings on him (Thomas) but we hit it right at people. They (ES&H) made a few diving catches in the outfield and other than that error in the sixth, they played flawless defense.”
Manuel, Benoit and Hunter Andrus each had one hit for the Millers on the day.”
Opening Game
Perennial power Retif Oil, based out of Jesuit High School, exploded for nine runs in the second inning and never looked back in a dominating 13-3 victory over the Millers in a game that was halted after the fifth inning due to the mercy rule.
The Millers had taken a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when Meche singled to right field and scored on an error.
The lead was short lived, however.
Retif sent 14 batters to the plate and scored nine runs in the bottom of the second.
Three straight singles to start the inning was followed by an error on a potential double play ball to spark the big inning.
“We had a chance to minimize the damage right there and just made a bad throw,” said Quebedeaux of the botched double play. “Instead of having two outs with just one run in, we give up three runs with no outs and it just snowballed from there.”
The Oilers logged two more hits and took advantage of four walks to break the game wide open.
The Millers trimmed the lead to 9-3 in the top of the third inning on a two-run double down the right field line by Hunter Andrus.
But the Oilers answered back with three runs of their own in the bottom of the frame on four hits and one walk to extend the lead to 12-3.
The game was halted in the fifth inning after the Oilers pushed across one run on three walks and a hit batter.
Meche paced the Millers’ offense with two hits. Mouton, Zeman, Manuel, Andrus and Macey Hicks each had one hit.
“You know, the season ended a little bit earlier than we expected, but we still had a great summer,” said Quebedeaux. “Every time we hit the field, these kids battled and that’s all that I can ask of them. It just wasn’t in the cards for us this weekend.”