Bobcats fall to Berwick

BERWICK – The Bobcats’ goal of advancing to the state tournament was halted by the high-powered Panthers as Berwick swept Eunice High in the Class 3-A quarterfinals.
The Bobcats appeared to be ready in their first game in the best of three matchup here against the Panthers after defeating Avoylles 15-5 in the regional round of the LHSAA state playoffs.
In opening game against Berwick, the Bobcats led off the game against Panther starting pitcher Kyle Pitre with Luke Andrepont drawing a walk and moving to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Austin Phillips.
Pitre walked Josh Youngblood and Tyler Darbonne singled to load the bases.
Pitre struck out Jayden Brasseaux for the second out, but Grant Fontenot drew a walk to score Andrepont. Pitre then hit Seth Venable to force home Youngblood for a 2-0 lead.
John Lejeune grounded out to end the inning.
“We let an opportunity pass us by in that inning”, remarked Bobcat head coach Scott Phillips in comments after the game.
“A couple of big hits would have given us a chance to get Pitre off the mound and get to their bullpen early in the game.”
The Panthers responded to the challenge in the bottom of the first inning. Mitchell Sanford opened the inning with a double off Bobcat starter Ian George and advanced to third base on a bunt by Brett Williams.
Lucas Hatch and Zach Hoffpauir each followed with a single to tie the game at 2-2 before George retired the side.
Pitre appeared to settle in against the Cats in the second inning. With two out, Phillips singled but was stranded. The top of the Panther order proved difficult in the second inning for George. Sanford and Williams each singled, with Sanford being thrown out at third when Lucas Hatcher grounded into a fielders’ choice. Hoffpauir drove in both runners with a double to take a 4-2 lead.
Darbonne led off the third inning with a single for the Cats, but Pitre retired the next three batters to end the threat.
The Panthers added two more runs in the third inning on the strength of a two-run double by Williams. Pitre gave up a single to George in the fourth inning, but the Cats would be shutout over the remainder of the game.
George was relieved after walking Hoffpauir in the fourth and Andrepont came on in relief. Pitre doubled home Hoffpauir and later scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Reid Wiley to give the Panthers an 8-2 lead which would increase their lead to 12-2 with two runs in the fifth and sixth innings, giving the Panthers the win due to the 10-run rule.
After falling to the Berwick High Panthers on Friday, the Eunice High Bobcats became the home team in Saturday’s matchup, allowing the Panthers to open the game as the visiting team.
The Panthers made the most of their first inning. Eunice starter Tyler Darbonne hit Mitchell Sanford with a pitch to open the game.
Sanford advanced as Brett Williams reached safely on an error. Lucas Hatch singled before Zeph Hoffpauir drove home two runs and Pitre tripled to give Berwick a 4-0 lead.
The Bobcats struggled offensively against Sanford over the first three innings, with Josh Youngblood being the only batter to reach base as a result of a walk.
Sanford recorded six strikeouts over the first three innings.
The Panthers added a fifth run in the third inning to go ahead 5-0.
The Cats managed to score three runs in the fourth inning against Sanford. Phillips walked and advanced on Youngblood’s single before Darbonne singled to load the bases. With one out, Grant Fontenot and Seth Venable had run-scoring singles to cut the Berwick lead to 5-3.
The Panthers responded in the next inning, scoring four runs for a 9-3 lead.
That lead increased with three runs late in the game to earn the Panthers a trip to the state semi-finals in Sulphur with a 12-3 victory over the Bobcats.