MARTIN: Parish is loaded again with good baseball/softball clubs

The action picks up, sure, but the time spent bathing in the sunshine at the ballpark fuels my soul like nothing else in the sports world. If football in the fall is like chugging energy drinks and bobbing your head at a rock concert, baseball and softball are like being serenaded by a cover band on a nice cool Saturday night on the town. Cool vibes all around.

I’ve always felt that way, though. I remember when I was a student at Nicholls State a decade ago — you have no idea how much that pained me to write that sentence — I frequented the ballparks. Because I worked at the student newspaper, The Nicholls Worth (catchy name, I know), I got to spend every weekend hopping from one field to the next. And it was a lot of fun.   

But covering baseball and softball can be the best of times and worst of times. Getting to watch great teams battle on the diamond is high on the list of things I enjoy most about this job, but watching bad baseball/softball is hands down the worst. While some areas in the country feature teams that will boot the ball around the infield for a dreadful 10-run inning, and trust me, I’ve been there, we have quality baseball and softball played in our backyard. And I don’t take that for granted.

I suppose coming off of this weekend we need to start with a West Monroe team that is living up to its national preseason rankings. The defending Class 5A State Champions are on a tear with its 14-game win streak. And the Rebels aren’t playing slouches. After stacking wins against quality competition in the Trey Altick Louisiana Prep Classic, the Rebels welcomed more stout competitors on the road at the Jay Patterson Shootout. West Monroe defeated Live Oak, St. Amant, Dutchtown and Hahnville. The Rebels scored at least nine runs in every one of those victories, and yes, that included West Monroe’s semifinal and championship opponents from last postseason. What’s crazy about this season so far is the Rebels are doing this after Brennan Eager, last year’s All-State pitcher, suffered an injury in a scrimmage during the preseason. Freshmen Bradyn Garner and Gage Carr have stepped up on the bump, and the Rebels haven’t missed a beat. Imagine how much better this team will be when Eager returns to the fold.

The softball team knows a thing or two about stacking big wins early on too. I got to witness the ultimate test of grit and endurance between West Monroe and West Ouachita the other night, as the Lady Rebels defeated the Lady Chiefs in 12 innings. West Ouachita is a fun team to watch because head coach Ashley Burkett-Hoyle has been building this team ever since West Ouachita made the jump to Class 5A. Those young freshmen and sophomores are all of a sudden experienced juniors and seniors, and they’re ready to compete with the best teams in the state. Keep an eye on both of those teams in the Non-Select Division I bracket this postseason.

I have to brag on Sterlington too. The Lady Panthers are 15-2 with players like Emma Brown, Hope Tucker and Maddie Taylor that I swear I’ve been writing about since graduating from college. Or at least it feels that way.

On the baseball side, Neville, West Ouachita, Claiborne Christian and Sterlington have had somewhat of a slow start for different reasons, but I fully expect them to turn it up a notch over the next month. They always seem to.

Ouachita Christian is off to a stellar start, despite seeing a change at the head coaching position, and St. Frederick has some serious star power with Garrett Taylor and company picking up where they left off a year ago. Excited to see how far both of those teams can make it through the Select Division IV bracket in a month.

As for other softball clubs, the Neville Lady Tigers are too talented to dismiss. Despite hovering around a .500 record, I know Trey Dozier will get that group on a run soon. OCS has won three out of its last four on the softball diamond to improve to 10-6 overall, while St. Frederick (9-6) has won four straight.  

It feels like a lot of our teams are heating up at just the right time.

After a disappointing postseason run in basketball, with only one state champion from the boys and girls side, I know Ouachita Parish will have a much larger representation at the state tournament later this spring.